Kingdom Hearts 2:Shattered Past
by The Six of Hearts
Summary: Sequal to AaCC. It's been one year, and Cedeile has been preparing for this last battle. Silvia, and the fate of all the worlds, are on the line. Truths become lies as Cedeile and her friends make their way down the twisted path to the end.
1. Opening:Triple Zero

6H: Well, it took FOREVER but now I'm starting it. The EPIC sequel to Kingdom Hearts: Adventures at Castle Chocobo!

Anaretsu: I suppose now you'll tell us the title and rant about how awesome it will be and how this is the opening, blah, blah, blah…

6H: Pretty much. Without further ado, the opening to Kingdom Hearts II: Shattered Past

(6H: WARNING!!! This fic contains the following: Extreme Violence, Original Characters, plots that were not contained in the original game, an ALTERED ENDING, Namine/Roxas/OC triangle (oh snap!), hints of Larxene/Roxas, more violence, theories about the creation of life, talk about God, cursing and rough language, blood shed (and alot of it), and various other things that may be found offensive. DISCLAIMER:I do not in any way, shape or form own any aspects of the Kingdom Hearts series. I do own all original characters.)

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Opening-Triple Zero

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A night sky hung above the quiet field. A lone figure looked up at them, standing at a crossroads. The figure was alone.

"The person looking back at me…

The person who I want to be…

They are no longer the same.

So, let us continue, with our fingertips intertwined.

As you, and I." _(Cedeile)_

_The sun was setting, and the whole ocean reflected the orange sky above, just as it always had. There she was, stringing together the shells, just as she had learned from her grandmother. It was a good luck charm for their journey. She tied the threads tightly, just as another wave crashed onto shore and dragged sand and stone back into the sea._

_The four of them were watching the evening sky, talking about what lay ahead of them. Two of them sat on a fallen tree, one on the warm sand, and another leaned against the tree. The one on the sand laughed, dark green eyes looking back and forth between them. Suddenly, the boy leaning against the tree faded away, then the girl sitting on the tree, and then at last, the boy with brown hair, who had been next to the other girl. But the green-eyed girl didn't look back. Instead, she stood up as her friends faded away and looked towards the horizon, then, with a running leap, she launched herself into the air and away from her island home. _

_(In you and I, there's a new land…)_

_Cedeile, Ryu, and Aru looked up at the looming Hallow Bastion castle. On the floating rocks above them were several heartless. Cedeile gripped the heartblade tighter and ran ahead, jumping onto a platform and taking them out as they came at her. Ryu and Aru came from behind, the fragment hunter swinging his blade and the mage casting her magic. _

_(Angels in flight…wonk uoy naht noitceffa erom deen I )_

_As Cedeile pulled away from them and went up the rocks, she suddenly ran into Riku and froze-he was kissing her. No, it wasn't him. As he slid away from her, leaving a cold feeling on her skin, she realized that he was possessed by Ansem, and that she was trapped in an entanglement of pipes. Sora and Riku began to fight, so she pulled to try to free her hands._

_(In Sanctuary, my sanctuary, yeah…)_

_Suddenly, she broke free, and Ryu and Aru were right beside her. She smiled at them, and then ran towards the ensuing battle. Ryu tried to reach for her, but she was already out of his grasp._

_(Where fears and lies melt away…)_

_Sora and Riku both swung their keyblades back, getting ready for a big attack. Both struck forward at the same time…_

_(Music inside…wonk uoy naht noitceffa erom deen I)_

_Cedeile hardly made a sound as the two blades passed through her. Sora gasped and yelled for her. She looked at him with a bit a pain and muttered something to him as she faded away. _

_(What's left of me now?)_

_Riku jumped back and shed his appearance, revealing himself to be Ansem. Sora ran up to him, jumped in the air, and came down to attack him. _

_----_

_The doors of Kingdom Hearts opened, revealing light. Ansem tried to put his hands up to block it, but it wiped him out, obliterating his darkness. _

_Riku turned to look at them. He mouthed something for them to hear before the doors shut for good._

_Hikari Tagami stood up, shaking the hair out of her eyes. _

_Silvia's frail form appeared. She was dressed in a simple white dress and had long white hair that went to her knees. She was so tiny for someone with so much influence with the creation of the keyblade and heartblade. But before any of them could move, Ansem grabbed her and took her away. _

_Ryu dropped a small light from his hands into Cedeile's body. Glowing streaks of light flew around them as she opened her eyes and came back to her friends._

_----_

_(I watch you, fast asleep…)_

_Cedeile turned to look back behind her. The landmass that Ryu and Aru had been standing on had broken off and was floating away. She turned back to Sora, reluctantly said goodbye, and ran, jumping to reach them. They helped her up so that she wouldn't fall. Something behind Cedeile caught her attention, and she turned to see something shiny flying to her in the darkness. She caught it and looked back at Sora, who was waving goodbye. Cedeile smiled, put his necklace over her head, and waved back._

_(All I fear…means nothing…)_

_Overhead, she saw light streak across the sky-the stars that had gone out were returning! Little lights fell down to the ground behind them. As they moved above her, they traveled to where Kairi was watching Sora slowly disappear._

_(In you and I, there's a new land…)_

_He tried calling out to her, but she couldn't quite hear what he said. She watched as he faded away into the bright light on the horizon, and then as that, too, faded away. She sighed sadly-she was alone on the dark island._

_(Angels in flight…)_

_The scene disappeared, and instead, an older Kairi was there. But she wasn't alone-a girl rather similar to her was standing with her. But this girl had very short indigo colored hair-her name was Karri. The two grasped their hands together and looked out at the ocean._

_(Where fears and lies melt away…)_

_Kairi was still waiting for them-for Cedeile, Sora and Riku to return. Karri was waiting too-to meet them. And they wouldn't stop waiting. _

_(Music Inside…)_

_Namine sat in her chair, sketching on her drawing pad like she always did. She smiled at her picture of a crystal staircase._

_(What's left of me? So many ups and downs…)_

_The staircase became real, with many heartless squirming around on it-they seemed to be interested in who was coming up them. It was Cedeile with Ryu and Aru behind her. She ran up the stairs ahead of them, slashing at the heartless that came at her. _

_(My heart's a battleground…)_

_Aru swung her arm out and quickly changed into Hikari Tagami. She brought her arms up and cast a powerful thunder spell to get rid of the heartless ahead of them. Ryu swung his sword around to take out the remaining ones._

_(I need more emotion)_

_Cedeile ran ahead of them and gasped. Ahead of her on the stairs were two cloaked figures. It was too dark to make out who they were, but there was no time to ponder that. She felt herself being propelled into a long white room. After getting her bearing again, she looked in front of her to see a powerful enemy-the half angel-demon she used to call Windy. It turned around and looked at her with blank brown eyes. _

_(I need more affection than you know. I need more emotion.)_

_Cedeile ran up to make a first move. Sora swung the keyblade at Marluxia. Riku pulled back, dodging Ansem's attack. Sora jumped up and moved out of the way of Marluxia's scythe, while Cedeile flipped around behind the half angel-demon to avoid a gust of wind. Riku and Ansem clashed swords. The angel-demon's nails blocked Cedeile's heartblade, and Sora was able to knock the scythe away._

_(You show me how to see that nothing is whole.)_

_Sora ran up the stairs alone, going ever upwards. Riku did the same. The two were getting so far. Way far down behind them, Cedeile was alone, trying to make her way too, and desperate to catch up to them. As she ran, the stairs began to break behind her. The breaking caught up to her, and she started to fall backwards into the darkness, but reached out and grabbed a white door handle in time. _

_(And nothing is broken. In you and I, there's a new land…)_

_She flung the doors open and found herself in a white room. In the middle of the room, Sora was standing there. She ran up to him, but a giant glass flower came out of the floor and surrounded him, taking him away. She yelled out for him and tried to break through the glass to get to him. From behind it appeared Namine. She looked up at Cedeile and said something._

"_Mirai wa…(The future…)" _

_(Angels in flight…)_

_Cedeile's eyes narrowed and she gritted her teeth. She took out the heartblade and ran at her. The room faded away to nothingness, and instead of attacking Namine, she was attacking Agent 427 of the Trinity Soldiers._

_(In sanctuary, my sanctuary…)_

_She turned to the side and gestured behind her. Cedeile looked past many people that were important in her life, because behind them all was one person who she thought she had lost. A young boy of about twelve was standing there, was his head down. He had messy black hair, and wore a blue t-shirt and jade green pants that went to his knees. He looked up and had the same green eyes as her. She called out to him._

"_Daichi!"_

_(Where fears and lies melt away.)_

_The two siblings ran towards each other, the other memories vanishing as they passed. They reached out for each other, but Daichi's arm began to disappear._

_(Music inside)_

_Cedeile was looking in a full-length mirror at herself, but she was older. She gasped and fell backwards, her eyes closing. She was on the beach, laying between Sora and Riku with Kairi beside Sora. They were all asleep, with their hands all firmly clasped. The sun was setting over them. _

_(What's left of me now?)_

_The scene broke away, and Cedeile was falling between Ryu and Aru. They were older now, and kept their hands grasped tightly. As they fell, a transparent figure appeared out of Cedeile and flew down below them. It caught up to a boy, who also happened to be flying down in the darkness. The figure faded into him, and his sky blue eyes slightly opened. He tried to gain control of his free fall and was successful. He gently landed on his feet and began to look around, wondering where he was. Suddenly, birds began to fly out from under him, revealing a stained glass picture underneath. As the last birds flew away, he looked up to watch them. _

_----_

Cedeile slowly opened her dark emerald green eyes. It was still dark out, too dark to be anywhere near dawn. She sighed and whispered under her breath.

"Just a bunch of bad memories…"

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6H: Eh, was that stupid?

Anaretsu: Yes.

6H: Sorry. It was hard to describe how I wanted everything. I hope this gets the point across. Don't worry, Cedeile's cool outfit will be described soon. (With hopefully not too much detail. Don't want this to turn into a badfic. Though it may be already…)


	2. Triple Zero Two:The Difference Between

6H: And here's the next chapter. This will clear up what's happened in the time between AaCC and now.

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Triple Zero Two-The Difference Between Then and Now

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Cedeile sat up and looked around her room. There was a fuzzy darkness all around, just like always at night. In particular, a full-length mirror hanging on the door caught her attention. She could just barely make out a tired looking, fifteen year old girl with long black hair. The girl was staring intently at her. They both sighed. Had she really changed at all? She still liked the color red, was still an idiot (though she didn't like to admit that fact), and still had no clue what she was supposed to be doing at the moment, in terms of her title as heartblade master.

It had been almost a year since she and her two friends-Ryosuke (Ryu) and Aru- had walked out of Castle Yume, the castle of dreams, and had found themselves near Ryu's hometown. Since then, she had trained in the home of the Takita family-the last of the ancient Ryu Clan- along with her friends in hope of seeing some sign of Sora's return. But she felt so restless lately. What about the heartless? It had been so long since she'd actually seen one that she was forgetting they existed. Were they just all gone? What of the organization she's fought in Castle Oblivion. What of Axel? Where had he gone after Marluxia had killed Anya? Was Axel still mourning her loss? Or did he not care? And what about Namine? Was she really restoring all of Sora's lost memories right now? Namine had said that it would be clear when Sora awakened, and that Cedeile would know when it happened. She wasn't sure what it meant, but she figured that Sora must've woken up by now.

And what still bothered Cedeile was the fact that she had no idea what the final purification was or whom she was supposed to save. That voice had whispered these careful words in her ear so long ago that it seemed to have happened in another lifetime. She felt that she must've missed something and the opportunity for these things to happen had passed. That would mean she would've failed.

Seeing her brother Daichi a year ago had also had a huge impact on her. All this time she thought he was dead, but he had really had his heart stolen by a heartless and had become like the organization, but, as he had put it, "not exactly like them. Separate." He had said that he would see her again soon, but it had been such a long time. It had been ten years since she thought he had died, but now she knew he was okay. She had wanted so badly to go home and tell her mother and father the good news, but there was no way for her to get home, especially now.

There was a soft creaking in the floor that disrupted her reverie. Someone was moving about in the room next door. Cedeile looked at the wall and listened-soft humming could be heard.

"Aru?" Cedeile asked herself. She crawled out from under the covers and put her bare feet on the floor. For sleeping she wore a red tank top and baggy gray sweatpants. Over the past year, she had let her hair grow out. It used to reach to her thighs, but now it was past her knees. At the moment it hung a little longer because she had unbraided it for the night, leaving it slightly wavy. There were shorter clumps growing in behind her ears as well, making her hair look messy.

Quietly, so as not to disturb anyone else in the house, she opened her door and tiptoed into the hall. She left it slightly opened and the walked to the next door. She pondered whether or not she should knock, and decided to just go in anyway. Slowly she opened the door, just enough to look in with one eye.

"Aru?" she whispered. The humming stopped.

"Come in, Cedeile. It's okay." A voice replied quietly. Cedeile opened the door just enough for her to slip through and went inside. This room was similar to her own in layout, but instead two people occupied this space. Sitting on the edge of the bed was a girl the same age as Cedeile. She had long lavender colored hair that reached to her chest. Two strands had been brought in front of her shoulders and framed her face. Her eyes were ruby red, and peered out from behind big round glasses with thin frames. Her name was Aru, and she and Cedeile had been friends for a long time now. They had fought along side each other this whole time.

"I heard you were up and thought that something might've been wrong." Cedeile said, sitting next to the mage. In the past year, Aru had changed a lot too. She had grown her hair like Cedeile, and had gotten much taller. When once she had looked to be no more than eight, she now appeared to be a little older than she actually was. Maybe it was because of the sagely wisdom she had always had. Or maybe the little bundle that was resting in her arms had made her grown up a bit. Cedeile leaned over to get a better look at this bundle for herself. "Did he wake up and start crying?"

"No." Aru replied, and looked down. In the bundle was a tiny baby, only about two months old. His tiny eyes were closed but they were the same ruby red as Aru's. On his head was fuzzy, silver-colored hair. "Song has been very good. I remember when all he did was cry and cry…it kept us all up at night." She sighed while Cedeile quietly laughed.

"But I still can believe it, Aru. I mean, we both know what…has to happen for-"

"Yes, Cedeile." Aru said uncomfortably.

"Yeah, exactly! But you've never-"

"I know."

"And yet you gave birth to Song! And what's more amazing is that he kind of looks like Riku. I mean, just a little bit. It's remarkable!" She said, gently touching the child's soft cheek. Aru was blushing a very deep red.

"It doesn't really make sense, does it? But do you really think he looks like Riku? I don't think so. I mean, except for the hair color. And he has the same color eyes as me, but he doesn't really look like me. I was thinking…"

"Thinking what?" Cedeile asked.

"Well…I know it sounds weird, but I was thinking that Song kind of looks like Hikari Tagami." Aru finally got out. A misplaced silence fell on them. Hikari Tagami, the ancient master mage, whose soul and heart were also within Aru's body. It had been Hikari who had made the heartblade and keyblade five hundred years ago.

"Do you really think that?" Cedeile asked after a while.

"I noticed it the other day when Kiryu was feeding him. He just has the air of nobility and wisdom about him. It frightens me sometimes, Cedeile. Especially since we can't explain _where_ he came from."

"He came from-" Cedeile began.

"You _know_ what I mean!" Aru rushed. Suddenly, the door opened and gave them both a start. They looked to see their other friend standing there.

"I thought I heard you girls talking in here." Ryosuke Takita said, leaning against the doorframe. His oak brown hair, cut above his ears in back, but kept long in front, was messy from sleep. Unique navy eyes were looking at the two girls, and on his face he wore a smile. "Anything wrong?"

"Just talking. Come join us, Ryu." Cedeile replied.

"Sure." He said simply. He closed the door behind him and came in, taking a place on the floor near them. Over this year, Ryu had almost been a constant. Besides his new haircut (which Cedeile thought looked rather bizarre), he had gotten taller. Except for that he was mostly the same. Being with his family this past year had been awkward at times, especially when he and his siblings began shouting at each other in the old language that only they still knew, but it had been easier to assimilate to their new home with him there. Maybe part of that was because Ryu had to adjust to being at home again too. He had been away from his family for a long time, even before he met Cedeile and Aru, so it was nice to see him being happy with his mom and dad and siblings.

"Any good conversations I missed?" he asked.

"Not really. Just wondering about Song again." Aru said.

"I see. It is a mystery." Ryu replied. There was another silence, but this one was rather comfortable. This is how it could be with them-so much had happened between them that there didn't need to be words anymore. But Cedeile felt like she had to say something, because it had been bothering her since she had woken up.

"I had a dream about our journey." She said. Another pause before the next phrase ensued.

"What about?" Ryu ventured.

"About…well, everything." She explained. "I saw everything. I got me thinking about Sora again."

"Cedeile, you have to relax. Namine said that you'd know when Sora woke up and remembered." Aru reassured her.

"I know! I know…but I'm worried that I might've missed the sign that I was supposed to get. And then I started thinking about Daichi and Agent 427."

"You saw your brother in this dream?" Ryu asked.

"Yes. I saw them both. Daichi said that the organization was after him, but he didn't explain why. It makes me worried. What if Axel is out there somewhere is and is chasing after Daichi?" Cedeile asked. Aru stood and walked over to a white crib where Song slept. She gently lowered him in and placed him on his back to sleep.

"I'm sure he'll be fine. He's your brother after all. Besides, Agent 427 will help him. You said that they were together somewhere." She said, making sure her 'son' was all settled.

"That's what he said. But he's my brother. I should be helping him."

"What's important is that you do what you're supposed to do, and that's waiting for Sora to awaken so that the two of you can continue your journey." Ryu said. "And when that time does come, the both of us will be ready to fight with you, just like we always have."

"Of course." Aru added. "We're always here for you, Cedeile." The heartblade master smiled.

"Thanks guys. And the same goes for me. I'll always be looking out for you." She smiled. "I'll just have to trust that Daichi knows what he's doing." She gave a big yawn signaling her exhaustion.

"A little tired?" Ryu asked jokingly.

"Just a bit. It's still pretty late, isn't it?" she asked.

"Yes. We should all try to sleep. We've got a lot of training to do before we're ready to help Sora." Aru said.

"Still? I don't Aru, we're pretty strong now as it is." Cedeile said.

"We can always get stronger, I think. I don't feel like I'm ready to help Sora just yet. I want to work harder and really improve my technique." She said.

"Aru's right. You're never really done training." Ryu added, standing up. "I'm going back to sleep. See you in the morning, girls." He said, walking out of the room.

"I better get back to sleep too, then." Cedeile said, following him. "Goodnight, you guys."

"Goodnight." Aru replied. The two closed the door as the exited back into the hallway. Just as they were about to part ways, Ryu spoke quietly.

"If there's every anything that's bothering you Cedeile, please tell us." He said. "Don't think that the burden is yours alone, just cause you're the heartblade master." She turned back to look at him. He was a good head taller than her now, which made her feel like she was shrinking. She nodded.

"Sure thing Ryu. But it's a two-way thing. You should feel free to tell me whatever you need to. Don't hold back because you think it will bother me." He smiled.

"Yeah, yeah. Sure thing. Goodnight." He turned and walked back towards his room. Cedeile reentered her room, closed her door, and tried to get some sleep.

----

Footsteps sounded down the stairs and sunlight streamed in from the windows. Cedeile rounded the corner, hopped down the last few steps, and bounced her way into the kitchen.

"Morning everyone!" She said as she entered. She was in her normal clothes now, which were very different from what she had used to wear. Her old clothes had been torn up badly, and then they got too small, so Ryu's mother had made her and Aru new clothes.

Her new outfit was a dark scarlet dress-the left side was solid fabric with a long sleeve that flared out and had two ends that tied loosely toward their ends. The right side of her outfit tiered into little more than ribbons that exposed her skin. More ribbons criss-crossed down her right arm and wrapped around her palm. The criss-cross motif was repeated on her left leg, and on the inside of her right thigh was the mysterious 'heart with wings' tattoo that had appeared at Castle Yume. Because the skirt part was short, Cedeile wore a pair of small black shorts underneath, and hung a dark brown belt loosely around her waist. Her sneakers had been fixed up as well; they had been dyed a darker red to match her clothes, and she had strapped darker crimson belts around them.

"Good morning." Kiryu said from the counter, where she was trying to get the coffee maker to work. Kiryu was Ryu's 18-year-old sister, and normally very calm. Her back hair was messily held up in a black hair clip, and her eyes were the same color as Ryu's, of course. Just as Cedeile loved the color red, Kiryu liked white and wore it all the time. Also always on her wrists were two silver gauntlets-her special weapon, just like how Ryu's was his giant sword. "How did you sleep last night, Cedeile?"

"Pretty good I guess." Cedeile replied, sitting down at the shaky little kitchen table. "Where is everyone?" she asked. "I didn't think it was too early."

"I'm not sure. Uncle Ryusen, Dad, and Mom are doing something, and I think Ryu and Tetsurei are in the basement making adjustments to the fragment radar." She replied. "Oh geez, I just got my hand stuck in the filter." She muttered, and began trying to pull her trapped appendage out.

"Are you alright?" Cedeile asked.

"Oh, I'm fine! Why don't you get Ryu and Tetsurei to come up for breakfast? It'll be ready soon." Kiryu said.

"Sure…I mean, if you're okay?" As soon as Cedeile said that, there was the sound of cracking plastic. Kiryu had just liberated her hand from the offending coffee machine.

"Yup! Everything's good!" She said, showing Cedeile her hand.

"Okay. I'll be back in a second." And she took her leave of the kitchen. Back out in the hall, she turned around the corner and began to descend down another set of stairs. These were metal, and the walls changed from wood paneling and wallpaper to steel. She opened the door at the bottom and entered the slightly darkened room-Tetsurei's lab. All over were instruments and machines that Cedeile had no idea what they did. She navigated carefully around them and went searching for the two boys. There was a buzzing sound coming from behind a tall shelf filled with bottles and books and smaller trinkets, so she checked it out. A voice began to echo off the walls.

"Yeah, that should be it. The range has been significantly extended, so it should be easier to find her." The voice said, sounding like it belonged to a younger boy.

"Awesome, Tetsurei. I don't know what we'd do without you." Another voice, belonging to Ryu said. Cedeile finally found them crowded around one of the workbenches, a low hanging lamp swinging above them.

"Hey guys." Cedeile greeted. The two of them looked back at her, surprised to see her, but glad.

"Hey." Ryu said.

"Hello, Cedeile." The other one replied. He had a protective metal visor pushed back on his head, covering his dirty blonde hair. He, too, had identical eyes to Ryu, and was shorter. He wore dirty, protective gloves, a white tank top with black streaks all over it, and baggy yellow pants. His name was Tetsurei, and he was Ryu's 14-year-old cousin. Tetsurei was good with mechanics and worked on most of the machinery and technology around the house. What the were working on now was the fragment radar-or as they were calling it now, the 'Silvia Radar.'

"Kiryu sent me down to get you guys. Breakfast will be ready soon." She said. "What are you doing with the radar?"

"Tetsurei reworked some of the programming and was able to extend the range it can sense Silvia." Ryu explained.

"Yeah, it was nothing, really." Tetsurei added, taking off the metal visor and the gloves. He walked over to a nearby sink to wash his hands. "Hopefully, with the extra range, you guys will be able to get a signal."

"It has been a long time since we've picked up anything, hasn't it?" Cedeile asked.

"Don't remind me." Ryu said. "It's giving me a headache. I mean, how do you find one comatose girl in the whole universe? It's impossible!" He exclaimed.

"It'll be okay. We'll find her eventually. Believe me, if Ansem or anyone else had their hands on her, something bad would've happened, and we'd have known, right?" Cedeile said, trying to cheer him up.

"Maybe." He replied.

"So, did Kiryu get her hand stuck in the coffee machine again?" Tetsurei asked.

"Yeah."

"I don't understand why Dad and Uncle Ryuichi won't just let me take a look at it!" He exclaimed.

"Because you'll take it apart and find other uses for the parts, and then we'll never have a coffee maker." Ryu explained.

"Not true!" Tetsurei argued. The other two laughed and proceeded upstairs and too the dining room.

The dining room was huge, and in the center was a long table that the whole family could eat at. Already there was Aru giving Song his morning bottle. She had pulled her hair back into a high ponytail on her head, and left the two strands that framed her face down. She, too, had received new clothes from Ryu's mom, but they were very similar to the style she had worn before. Her oversized white robe had the same symbols repeated all over it, but instead of blue they were rose colored. She tied a pink ribbon around it to secure it just under her chest. Underneath she wore a black tube top and a tight black skirt that went to just above her knees. She also wore lace up, black knee boots, and around her neck hung her black necklace Riku had left her. Cedeile sat down next to the mage, cheerfully, and the two boys sat across from them.

"Good morning, Aru." Cedeile greeted.

"Morning. Did you sleep better after our little talk?"

"Yeah."

"Where is everyone?" Ryu asked, looking around.

"Kiryu said that your parents went off somewhere." Cedeile supplied. "I guess the rest of them are still sleeping."

"It figures. Those kids get it easy." Ryu said, reclining in his chair. He was referring to the two younger members of the Takita family-Misara and Mikaru.

"Oh, like you don't get off easy." Tetsurei joked. The careless atmosphere didn't last after that, because Kiryu burst in the room breathless.

"Kiryu!" Ryu exclaimed, jumping out of his seat.

"You guys! It's the heartless! They're here in Twilight Town!!!" Kiryu exclaimed. The other three gasped. Cedeile stood and looked to Aru and Ryu.

"Are you guys ready to fight again?" she asked.

"Like old times? I could go for that." Ryu replied.

"Me too. I need a good fight to work off the stress." Aru added. She gave Song to Kiryu and left with the other two to join the fight.

----

It was still early morning in Twilight Town, so no one was around to see the three of them emerge from the supposedly abandoned building Ryu's family lived in. Cedeile got out the door first and ran up the small flight of steps that led up to the street. She looked both ways down the street, first to the left where it ended in a dead end, then to the right that led to the main part of town. There was nothing to be seen.

"I don't know. I think Kiryu lied. Look! There's nothing out here! Not a damn thing…" She grumbled.

"Shut up, Cedeile. If the security systems picked them up, they've got to be here." Ryu said. "Tetsurei designed them himself to be able to detect heartless."

"Do you see any heartless out here now, Ryu?" she asked.

"No, I don't."

"Then that damn security thing doesn't work!"

"Would you guys stop it!?" Aru exclaimed. "Just because they're the heartless doesn't mean they're going to stand out in the open for us to attack!"

"Very true." Cedeile agreed. "Come on!" And she ran off towards Market Street.

"Cedeile, wait! You can't just…" Ryu began, but she had already sprinted ahead. "Damn it. If someone sees her…"

"Calm down." Aru replied. "Even if someone does notice her, I doubt they'll think much of it."

"Still, the Ryu Clan is supposed to live in secret."

"Come on. We better catch up to her and finish this quickly. The longer the heartless are around, the more trouble it'll be." Ryu sighed again and then the two of them went to try and catch up to the heartblade master. Meanwhile, Cedeile turned around a sharp corner and down into an alleyway. Another turn, and it was down a flight a stairs and into an empty sand lot. She stopped. There was nothing here, and it disappointed her. Where could these heartless be? But she didn't have to wait much longer after that for an enemy, for one did appear behind her and knocked her down.

"Damn it!" She yelled, taken by surprise. She got up on her feet again and turned to confront the threat. "What the hell-?" Instead of the suspected heartless she expected to find, she saw a white creature with long, flimsy limbs and a point mouth. On its head was a bizarre, white symbol that she had never seen before. It came for her again, but she summoned the heartblade and blocked the attack.

"Cedeile?" Aru's voice echoed down the stairs.

"I'm down here, Aru! And I found our enemy!!" She kicked the mysterious creature away from her and sent it into a wall just as Aru and Ryu entered the sandlot. At the same time, four more of the white creatures appeared.

"What are they? A new type of heartless?" Ryu asked, alarmed. He took out his sword and ran up to one that was coming at him. Two others started to come in towards Aru.

"THUNDARA!!!!" Aru yelled, sending lightning bolts from the sky into the two that were attack her. "I'm not sure what these things are, Ryu. Cedeile, are you-?"

"Far from alright, Aru!" Cedeile interjected. The one she had kicked into the wall and the last of the creatures were both coming at her at the same time. She blocked one while she tried to lash out at the other one with either her bare hand or her foot. Ryu finally was able to take out the one he was battling with by slicing it in half and went to her aid. He used his sword the fling it away from her so she could concentrate.

"Are you good now?" Ryu asked.

"This should be fine!" She replied and turned her attention to the one. "Holy Purification!!!" Her signature attack of a cross of light was sent at the creature. It screamed and flailed about while the cross burned into it, and then finally disintegrated.

"Oh crap!" Aru screamed as one jumped onto her. Cedeile turned to go help, but without warning another creature appeared behind her. Ryu saw it and yelled out to warn her.

"Cedeile! Watch out behind you! There's another one!!!!" Cedeile skidded to a stop and turned to try and fight it, but she was too slow. It came at her suddenly, thrusting one of it's spear-like hands into her. It didn't pierce her, but she was still hit rather hard and flew down to the ground. The heartblade went flying across the ground until it hit the wall on the other side and disappeared. Aru had turned to see what had happened

"Oh my god!" She cried before one of the creatures tackled her to the ground. She fought it off with a fire spell and it was soon defeated. Ryu cut through the one he'd been dealing with and ran over to where Cedeile lay on the ground.

"Cedeile? Cedeile, are you alright?" He called, not wanting to touch her in case she was injured and he made it worse. She didn't move-her eyes were closed and she was perfectly still. Aru made her way over, still shooting spell at the creatures to keep them away.

"What's wrong?" she asked, upset.

"I don't know. She's out cold, I guess, but she doesn't seem injured." He finally dared to lift her gently and felt the back of her head. No blood, so at least the back of her skull wasn't split open. But what could've been wrong with her? "Cedeile?" He said, hoping she'd wake up. He touched her face and was startled-it was suddenly so cold. "Cedeile! Wake up, damnit!"

"Ryu! There are more of them!" Aru yelled. He looked up and saw the more of the white creates were appearing around them.

"Shit…" he muttered.

----

6H: That's the end of this chapter! What could've happened to Cedeile?

Anaretsu: No one cares! Let's all get on with our lives!

6H: Psht. Tell me what you thought!


	3. I:Twilight Town

6H: Now it's time to continue!!!

Anaretsu: Joy.

6H: It's time to see the story of a certain blonde who's been dreaming…

----

I-Twilight Town

----

"You have arrived."

A full moon hung in the sky, yet the shoreline was still dark. Black waters crawled up onto shore, breaking up the silence. He had opened a portal and stepped out of the rock, and now he approached the other one, who had perched himself on a rock. He approached.

"I've been to see him. He looks just like you."

_Who are you?_

"I am what's left." The one on the rock replied. "Or maybe…I'm all there ever was."

_I meant your name_, the other one replied, bewildered.

"Is that really so important? Besides, do you even remember your true name?" The other one thought for a moment, confused.

My name…is… 

----

"Sora?" a girl's voice called out. A blue sky appeared overhead, as a brown haired boy woke up. He yawned, then decided to go back to sleep, but a figure appeared over head.

"Ah!" The boy cried, startled. "Give me a break, Kai-"

Two boys ran down the beach, one with silver hair, the other the brown haired boy.

"Are you giving up already?" The silver haired one asked.

"No way! I'm never giving up!" The other one said.

The sun was setting, and the four of them were all around that fallen palm tree they liked to sit on and watch the sunset from.

"If there are any other worlds out there, why did we end up on this one?" The silver haired one asked. The answer couldn't be heard.

They were walking from the docks to go back home. The girl with the black braided hair turned, but her face couldn't be made out.

"When we get back, I'll tell you all about it." He promised.

"Just don't forget me." She responded.

"Sora, don't ever change."

"This world has been connected-"

"The door has opened."

"So…ra…"

"Sora! It's a promise!!!"

----

Blankets fluttered up into the air and then flew back down with gravity's help as flailing limbs pushed them away. He had woken up so startled, but then realized there was nothing wrong. He looked down at his hands, his pure blue eyes so intense.

"Another dream about him…" he muttered. He heard a bell ringing and looked to his window. Another day was just starting, and the sun was beginning to make its way up to the sky. He got on his knees and cast open the window, letting the cool air fly in. He leaned on the wooden sill as the train went by and the bell continued to toll out the time.

'Sora…who are you?' he thought.

----

"Argh!!!!!" Hayner yelled, kicking the wall. The rest of them were caught off guard by his sudden action and stared. Well, he hadn't really noticed. He was still too occupied with his dream about Sora. Who was that girl with the red hair? What about the girl with the black braid? Or the silver haired boy? Forget them, who exactly WAS Sora, and why was he dreaming about him? Hayner began ranting about something and Pence listened intently. Olette just shook her head, and then noticed him deep in thought. She looked at him, worried.

"But doesn't it just tick you off?" Hayner said to them.

"Yeah, I mean, who goes and does that?" Pence replied, a little sheepishly at first.

"It's just wrong." Olette piped in. All of them looked over to their friend, who had been out of the conversation until that time. He noticed the silence and looked up to see three pairs of eyes waiting for response.

"Oh….uh, sure." He said hesitantly. He was still stuck in his dream from last night, and it didn't seem like he could get out of it.

"Seifer's just gone too far this time." Olette said. "Why does he always have to do this to us?"

"Well, we do have a score to settle with him and his group." Hayner said. "And a lot of stuff around town has been going missing, so if he wants to blame us, I can't really blame him. What really pisses me off is that he's been going around telling everybody that _we're_ the thieves!"

"What is up with that?" Pence remarked. "We haven't done anything that bad to get on his bad side."

"I guess we'll never know." Olette told him while Hayner continued ranting.

"Now everyone is treating us like the Klepto Club! You know what I mean? That's why I'm just…so…pissed!!! Have you ever been so pissed off in your life, cause I haven't. Never!" He finished and looked over at the blonde. "So, Roxas, what's your great idea.?"

The boy named Roxas looked up, blue eyes filled with shyness. He was usually just a quiet kid who didn't get involved in things. He just sat on the sidelines and watched, but maybe…

"Um….well…we could find the real thieves?" His voice ascended to a higher octave as he spoke, nearly breaking.

"Yeah? Then what?" Hayner asked, crossing his arms.

"Well, if we found the real thief…" Roxas began, gaining confidence, " That would set the record straight. Then no one could blame us."

"That's a good idea, Roxas." Pence said. "That way we wouldn't be causing trouble, so Seifer can't get on our case!"

"Good thinking, Roxas." Olette added.

"But what about Seifer?" Hayner asked as Roxas stood up and brushed off the back of his pants.

"We gotta clear our names first." He replied firmly. It always took awhile to warm up to talking, even with his friends. He couldn't help it-he was just a quiet kid.

"Okay. Let's start investigating then." Hayner said. Pence walked over to a box, on top of which was his camera.

"If we're going to investigate, we'll need to take a record of what we see." He said. He peaked into the window. "Oh no!!!" He yelled. The other three turned to look at him. "All our … are gone!!!" He then looked confused. "What?"

"Our …, gone?" Hayner asked. He got the same confused expression and grabbed his throat. "What the-?"

"You can't say …! Why not?" Olette asked. Roxas thought for a moment.

"The thief didn't only steal the … but the word … too!" He said.

"What kind of thief could do that? Is that even possible?" Hayner asked, skeptical.

"If it's happening now, then I'd say it is." Roxas replied.

"We'd better head to the tram common and ask around about thief stolen possessions!" Olette suggested.

"Alright. Then we'd better get going." Hayner said and ran out. Pence and Olette followed behind, and Roxas was about to go with them when he felt very dizzy.

"Cedeile!!! Wake up!!!!" 

"His heart is responding…it won't be long now."

"Whoa." Roxas said, shaking his head. He had fallen down somehow. He got up off the ground and steadied himself on his feet. A voice…he'd heard a voice in his head, calling out to someone. Who was Cedeile? Was she in trouble, and why did she need to wake up? Whose heart? What wouldn't be long?

"Roxas! Come on! This was your idea after all!" Olette said, running back in.

"Sorry. I'm coming." He said, smiling sheepishly.

"Are you okay? You look so pale…" She looked worried.

"It's okay! I just tripped, that's all." He insisted. He didn't want her to worry. Besides, now he wasn't sure if he'd heard the voice at all.

"That's so like you. You never pay attention to where you're going." She said, taking a place along side him as they walked out of their usual spot in the back alley, and up towards Market street. Pence and Hayner were there, waiting for them.

"Hurry up, you guys!" Hayner called. "I want to get going on this as soon as we can!"

"We're coming!" Olette said. "Come on, Roxas!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming!!" Roxas called. When he caught up to his friends, they were making their way down to the tram common, the center of town. They ran over the tracks just before the tram drove by, and then approached one of the shops. A man was standing behind the counter, looking rather bored, until he noticed the kids coming.

"Oh…it's you guys." He said.

"Don't look so happy to see us." Hayner spat back at him.

"Well you guys did steal the…" He replied.

"It wasn't us." Olette said. "We'd never-"

"Hey, why don't you show me some proof? Until you have proof, why don't you talk to the girl at the Accessory shop? I've got work to do, after all."

"You don't look like you're working." Pence uttered bitterly.

"Just get out of here! I've got customers to take care of." He yelled. The four sighed and headed over to the Accessory Shop, where their reception was, though less rude, just as cold.

"Hey Roxas, Pence, Olette, Hayner…" She said, while taking stuff out of boxes and putting it on the shelves behind her. "I can't believe you guys would steal … after everything everyone in town's done for you."

"We didn't steal it, whatever it is." Hayner replied.

"Yeah. It's no fun having everyone suspect us, you know." Roxas added.

"I know. I just can't believe that you would steal …"

"I didn't steal anything!!" Roxas shouted without meaning too. All of this was getting rather frustrating to him. He hoped to find that thief and break out of his usually non-violent personality to teach him a lesson.

"The lady who runs the candy shop is disappointed too." The girl said, leaning on the counter.

"I can't take this anymore." Pence said. "We're not getting anywhere on our investigation." He sighed. The others agreed silently and began to walk off.

----

"So much for your great idea, Roxas." Pence said, disheartened. The four of them had decided to get away from the main part of town and were now sitting on a bench in the sandlot, which was luckily empty.

"It's okay. It was a dumb idea anyway." Roxas mumbled, hunched over.

"No it wasn't!" Olette said. "It really was a good idea. We just couldn't make it work."

"See, a dumb idea."

"Stop it already! Why are you always dissing yourself?" Hayner exploded. He hopped off the back of the bench that he'd been balancing on and walked around to face his friends. Roxas looked up at him. "So we couldn't get any clues. So what? We just started, and I personally want to find this guy who's ruining our reps by stealing the…! Are we going to give up so easily?" No response, but Roxas smiled. That's why he and Hayner were best friends. Hayner said everything that Roxas was too afraid to say. Hayner was loud and obnoxious, and he was always coming up with ideas and motivating people to follow him. Roxas was just a quiet kid who went along with whatever he felt like, who didn't speak out or act up or make a scene.

"Well, if you're so smart, where do we go from here?" Roxas replied. Hayner was about to answer when a malicious voice echoed across the sandlot.

"Hey losers! Pretty bold of you to show your face around here!"

"Ready for another beating, ya know?"

"Defeat!"

The four of them turned to look at the group heading towards them. It was the self proclaimed "Twilight Town Disciplinary Committee", headed by none other than Seifer. Fuu and Rai were on either side of him, and Vivi was hopelessly behind.

"I thought we taught you a lesson, ya know?" Rai shouted stupidly. "Sent you running home like babies, ya know?"

"Pathetic." Fuu added. Vivi and Rai laughed.

"Snatching other people's stuff?" Seifer taunted.

"Hey! You know it wasn't us, Seifer, so just lay off!" Hayner yelled.

"Be quiet, blondie. That was undeniable proof that we owned you lamers. So, what did you do with it? Burn it? Huh, it's not like we need some … to prove that you're lamers anyway."

"Knock it off, Seifer." Hayner growled. Olette and Pence jumped up to be ready, in case Hayner should decide to start something.

"Yeah, that was pretty low, ya know?" Rai dumbly added.

"Childish."

"Well, maybe I'll let it slide, if you get on your knees and beg." Seifer said. Hayner clenched his hands into fists. Roxas thought for a moment, then stood up, and walked towards Seifer.

"Roxas!" Hayner called. Roxas stopped in front of Seifer's gang, who all watched him with suspecting and hateful eyes. Without breaking his eye contact with them, he went down, first on one knee, then on both, and then on his hands. He bent his head slowly to the ground. They all began laughing in triumph, while his friends looked worried. But Roxas just smirked to himself.

"What the-!" Seifer suddenly exclaimed. Roxas had jumped up and punched Seifer in the gut. The Disciplinary Committee leader doubled over in pain.

"Dirty!!" Fuu exclaimed.

"You little…! How could you do that, ya know?" Seifer didn't waste time-he ran forward at Roxas with his fist pulled back. He released it into the side of Roxas's face, and sent the blonde flying.

"Roxas!" Olette and Pence exclaimed, flying to his side. Roxas slowly got up again.

"I'm fine." Roxas insisted.

"You can't fight Seifer, Roxas! You're above that!" Olette pleaded.

"I can take him." Roxas replied under his breath. He was taken off guard as Seifer came at him again and grabbed him by the shirt, shaking him violently.

"You think you're smart, chicken wuss?" Roxas grabbed onto Seifer's coat and began pulling on the fabric in an attempt to show that he was on an equal level as his foe. His head felt jostled from began shaken so roughly.

"Yeah, I do." Roxas responded with a dangerous tone. Seifer's eyes narrowed more as he punched Roxas across the face again. Roxas merely staggered this time, so he was able to strike back with his own fist. The two grabbed each other again, trying to force the other to the ground. Seifer clearly had an advantage- he was bigger than Roxas and had much more muscle. Roxas was just a scrawny little kid, but he was going to try his damn hardest, because his friends were watching, and because, just maybe, he didn't want to be the quiet kid anymore.

"Whoa!" Pence uttered. Roxas slammed his head into Seifer's and used the momentary distraction to throw Seifer to the ground.

"Yeah! Way to go Roxas!!" Hayner cheered, but Olette just crossed her arms and frowned. She hated fighting. Roxas was about to lunge for Seifer again as he was getting up, but Fuu and Rai blocked his way.

"Seifer's not feeling so hot, ya know?" Rai said sheepishly.

"Tournament decides!" Fuu declared.

"What? Are you guys getting scared because your leader's getting trounced on by Roxas?" Hayner asked cheekily, throwing an arm around his best friend.

"Shit, chicken wuss." Seifer said, running some dirt off his cheek. "What the f--- was that?"

"Hey, let's get a picture, Pence!" Hayner said, smiling as though he had personally beaten Seifer to the ground. Pence aimed his camera and focused the lens.

"Alright you guys. Smile!" He said, and with a click the picture was taken. He took it out of the camera and admired it, but suddenly, a gray streak darted out of nowhere, swirled around him, and the photo was gone. "Hey!"

"The real thief?" Olette questioned. Roxas and his friend looked over to see a gray figure flying away. Roxas dashed after it.

"Roxas! Wait!" Hayner yelled, but the blonde was already focused on catching the thief.

----

He followed the figure through the back alley, and picked up his skateboard on the way. Hopping on, he began to pursue the creature faster than before. He couldn't tell what this thing was- it was unlike anything he had seen before.

As he headed down Market Street and entered the tram plaza, he began to go faster, the rolling of the wheels and the pounding of his head were the only things he could hear. He was solely focused on the figure that was just slipping ahead of him. He was sure people were yelling at him to slow down or to watch where he was going, but he didn't care. He followed the tram tracks over the bridge and down till he saw him slip into a crack in the wall. Roxas skated over to the wall and brought his board to a halt. He peered in the hole-it lead out to the woods. No way he could ride his skateboard in there. He stepped off it and grabbed it off the ground so that he could carry it with him.

Slowly, Roxas walked through the crack and entered the woods. It was very dense, and an aura of mysteriousness hung everywhere. The gray figure was now swirling above the trees, almost as though he had been waiting for Roxas to come find him.

'Does this thing want me to catch it?' Roxas thought. The figure began to move ahead, and Roxas ran after it, against his better judgment. He followed it, and it flew up a steep slope, where it seemed as though the woods cleared out.

The clearing was the site of the mysterious old mansion in Twilight Town. No one was sure where it had come from, how had built it, and even if it had ever been lived in, but yet it was still here, rotting away for the world to see. Roxas looked around-for some reason, this place always made him uneasy. But he couldn't think of that now-where was that thief? He had not long to wait, for the creature snaked around on the ground under him, and then suddenly lurched up at him and sent him flying. He cried out and hit the ground, his skateboard landing a few inches away. The creature came back at him, but he thought quickly, grabbed his skateboard, and hit the creature over the head with it as hard as he could.

"Take that!!!!" He yelled." The creature staggered about a bit and collapsed, but he was sure it would come back for him. Without thinking he dropped his board and ran to the mansion gates, even though they were locked tight. He heard the creature get up and turned back, petrified. Perhaps, chasing the creature himself was a bad idea. What was he to do without the help of Hayner and his other friends? As if things couldn't get any worse, he began to feel very dizzy all of the sudden. The creature moving towards him began to slide in and out of focus as he dropped to one knee.

'Damn it!' He thought angrily, not being one to curse often. 'What's happening-?'

"We have come for you, my liege…" "I'm not really sure. It could've been that attack, but…" 

"What?" He asked out loud. Was he going crazy, hearing these bizarre voices in his head? But then he felt something tug at his hand. He looked down and saw a long metal shaft materialize in his hand in the shape of a key. Roxas stood and looked at the strange object. "What is this thing?" He would've examined it further, but the object, as if it had a will of its own, began pulling him towards the creature.

----

Two cloaked figures stood before computer screens, the only source of light in the darkness. One was significantly taller than the other. The shorter one spoke first.

"I don't like what you're doing." He said. The taller one turned his attention from the screens and looked to his counterpart.

"Well, you don't have to join us. We just thought we'd…let you in on what's going on." The taller one replied, shrugging. "Besides, you're different from us. You can only maneuver in the place between. You're lucky that you can get through to here."

"I took the risk."

"Have you over-extended yourself?"

"Maybe a little. But I won't change my mind. I don't think this is the way to help Sora, and I really don't think this is fair to Roxas."

"What does it matter?"

"Just because he hates Nobodies-"

"Aren't you a Nobody too? Yet he hails you as being the perfect Nobody. He just loves you, because you're so unique." The taller one retorted, sneering. The shorter one turned, as if to leave, but then spoke.

"What about him? That new one you found?"

"Well, we haven't actually found him yet. We simply confirmed his existence, but we have yet to get an exact location for him. Truly odd that he's _her _nobody. But he'll be the one to wake her up-not Namine, like we originally thought." The shorter one smirked.

"Namine, nor this one, can wake her up. Only I know who can." The shorter one said, he began to walk to the back of the room, and then a portal opened in the way of his path. "I won't help you two. I'm sorry, but I have a better way of doing things."

"Then go ahead." The taller one said as the shorter one disappeared. "Do what you want…"

----

Roxas tried to get the bizarre object under his control, and was finally able to grab it with both hands. He figured that this thing, whatever it was, was meant to fight the strange creature that was before him. He gripped it tighter and got into a fighting position. Yes, this felt right now. He lunged forward and struck at the creature. It actually seemed to have some affect, because the creature screamed out and remained still for a few moments. Roxas didn't let the chance go to waste-he struck twice more before the creature struck out and flew across the clearing. Even though his shoulder hurt, he ignored it and went after the creature again. It noticed him and was about to strike at him again, but he slid around behind it and attacked from behind. He did this again and again, the fight waging on for a while, until, finally, the creature disappeared in a burst of light, and down from above came the objects it had stolen. Roxas watched as they fluttered down at him, his attention taken from this when the key in his hand disappeared.

"What? Where'd it go?" He said, looking at both of his hands. He sighed and bent down to see what the stolen objects were…

----

"You mean to tell me the thief took these?" Hayner asked in disbelief.

"Yeah." Roxas answered. He had made his way back to the usual spot in the back alley, thought Hayner and Pence had to half drag, half carry him there because he was so beat up. Olette put a band-aid on one of his cuts, and then hit him over the head. "What was that for? I'm beat up enough already."

"For fighting Seifer, then running off by yourself! What do you think we're here for?" She scolded. "We all look out for each other, right?"

"Of course." Hayner said. Pence flipped through the pictures.

"Hey guys, look at these!" He said. Roxas got himself off the couch, ignoring the soreness and stinging pain in his body. Olette and Hayner also gathered round and the looked on.

"What's this?" Olette asked, pointing.

"I was his first customer when he took over the shop, so we took a picture." Roxas explained.

"It's a nice photo." Olette commented, and then gasped.

"You can say it again! The word 'photo!'" Pence exclaimed.

"I guess so. How weird." She said.

"Well, at least we've cleared our names and everything's back to normal." Hayner said.

"Hey guys. Did you notice that all these pictures are of Roxas?" Pence asked. They all turned their attention back to the pictures. Pence went through them, one by one.

"Heh, it's a girl." Hayner remarked when Pence got to one of Roxas and the girl who worked at the Accessory Shop in town.

"You look happy, Roxas." Olette teased. Roxas blushed.

"Do not."

"And this one too." Pence said, getting to one of Seifer with his foot on top of Roxas, after he had beaten him in a fight one day. Then there was one of Roxas with a little girl from town, and one of him skateboarding, and then one of the four of them in front of the mansion. "Kind of creepy if you ask me."

"What? The mansion or your face?" Hayner teased. Pence glared at him.

"No! The fact that someone was stealing pictures of Roxas!"

"I wonder why?" Olette thought out loud. Roxas stay silent. He mentally agreed that it was bizarre. Sure everyone in town knew him, but that was mostly because he caused so much trouble with his skateboarding, and with Hayner.

"Hey, wouldn't it be something if someone want to steal the real Roxas?" Pence asked. Roxas raised an eyebrow.

"What are you talking about?" He replied. Hayner came up next to him and jokingly shoved him in the shoulder.

"That's ridiculous. Who'd want to steal a bonehead like Roxas? This kid is so quiet, and he hardly ever talks!" They all laughed.

"Thanks a lot, Hayner." Roxas said.

"Always thinking of you, pal!"

"Ah well, it's getting kind of late. Do you think we should head home?" Olette said.

"Hey, we're not little kids! We've got plenty of time to do something. But what…?" Hayner got that dangerous look that signaled he was thinking of something. "Hey, you guys ever heard of that abandoned restaurant on Station Heights?" he asked.

"Uh-oh." Pence said.

"More of these ridiculous ghost stories, Hayner?" Olette asked.

"No! This one's for real! I've been talking with some friends from school, and they said that they've heard something in there."

"What?" Roxas gasped.

"I don't know! But wouldn't it be cool to check it out?"

"No, Hayner. We're going home." Olette said.

"You can go if you want, but the three of us are going, right guys?"

" Three of us?" Pence asked, looking terrified.

"Hayner-"

"Great! Let's go!" And he ran out of the usual spot. The three of them looked at each other, sighed, and agreed that they had better go and catch up to him.

----

6H: That's the end of this chapter. Sorry it was so long, but I want to expand a little on the story, and study the relationship between Roxas and his friends a little more.

Anaretsu: Wonderful.

6H: The beginning was hard, because I want to give the sense that the replying voice was different. To me, it would seem awkward it was just regular speech, since it isn't like that in the game. Ah well. Next chapter-original content!


	4. II:Ghost and the Restaurant

6H: Welcome back to the story!

Anaretsu: You know, after two really long fanfics, I'm beginning to run out of things to say to you.

6H: Then don't say anything.

----

II- Ghost and the Restaurant

----

They ran up Station Heights, people bustling about around them in the evening light of summer. By the time they had found the street that Hayner had gone onto, they were out of breath and hot from their exercise. Hayner noticed that they had finally come and laughed.

"Couldn't resist, huh?" He asked.

"We couldn't let you do something stupid!" Olette said. "What if you went in and got hurt, or got in trouble for trespassing?"

"You really think someone owns this old place?"

"Someone must! And besides, that place has been empty for years. It's probably falling apart inside."

"It'll make for a great adventure, right Roxas?" The blonde was surprised to find himself being addressed, and thought about how he should answer. Hayner took his prolonged silence for agreement. "See?"

"Roxas!" Pence and Olette yelled.

"I didn't-! I mean I…" he thought. "Couldn't hurt to check it out?" The two sighed at him, but Hayner seemed almost rejoicing.

"Excellent, man!" He slung an arm around him and began dragging the hopeless boy towards the old building.

Clearly, the place was deteriorating. The windows were mostly boarded up and broken, save for the ones towards the top. The door was rotting away, and the smell of mold predominated, and they were only down in the front porch area that was sunk in the ground. The little stairs that led down to this area were chipped and broken, and the railing was half broken off the wall. Hayner proceeded in first, with Roxas close behind. Olette and Pence staggered in back, regretting every step they took, but not trusting of the two boys that were all for this little adventure.

"How long has it been since someone owned this place, anyway?" Hayner asked, going through the small hallway and into the main foyer. Wallpaper was peeling or rotting away off the walls, revealing shoddy drywall underneath. Spiders had made elegant webs in holes and gaps all over the place. Planks of wood were randomly strewn about, leaning against walls and resting in piles on the floor. Roxas felt the breath leave him as he entered the foyer-it was rather impressive for an old place. The room was square, with a hallway twisting off to the right, and some sort of dinning hall or parlor on the left with a grand fireplace and broken furniture. Nestled back in the corner was a dark walnut staircase that was in rather bad repair, but still breath taking. The chandelier from the stairwell was broken on the floor of the first landing, and golden light poured in from a broken window up above.

"It is kind of pretty. Such a shame that they had to close it down…" Olette said, rubbing her arm nervously.

"Yeah. Isn't it great?" Hayner replied, exploring further. He peeked down the hallway, but found nothing deemed worthy. Roxas silently went into the parlor, dust flying up in clouds from the scarlet carpet.

"Sure, whatever, it's great." Pence replied. "Can we go now?"

"Isn't this your kind of thing, Pence?" Hayner asked, poking around in some interior room. It was pitch black within.

"Well…to be honest…" The shorter boy stumbled, realizing that he was losing his argument. "I mean…I like places we can explore without getting in trouble, or hurt!"

"We go to the old mansion all the time." Roxas said half-heartedly, running a hand along the dusty gray mantle, feeling the cold marble. He looked up at himself in the cracked mirror, but had to blink and do a double take. For a moment, he thought he saw someone else, looking back at him with his same eyes, but a slightly different face. He stared at himself.

"That's different." Pence's voice drawled on from somewhere far away. He moved out of the mirror's view, probably moving towards Hayner. "We've never been in the mansion. Just the outside…" Roxas focused on one corner of the room, cloaked in shadow. In the afternoon sun's beams, it looked like a figure was there. A female figure…long hair in a thin braid…

"Roxas?"

He blinked and lost it. It must've been a trick of the light, because it was no longer there.

"Roxas!" He noticed that Hayner was now in the room. He turned and looked back at him. "Something wrong? You've just been standing there."

"No. Everything's fine, I guess." He replied, embarrassed.

"Okay. Ready to go upstairs?"

"What?" Olette's voice echoed. She came into the room. "Hayner, the stairs are half-broken! They could break as we go up and we could fall!"

"We won't fall. Come on guys, let's go! We've only just begun in our adventure." He plowed onward, ignoring Pence and Olette's sensible pleas. Roxas looked into the corner. He could've sworn someone was there. But he didn't really believe that ghosts existed, or that this place was haunted. It was just an old restaurant.

----

After climbing over the chandelier and carefully maneuvering around weak spots and holes, the four of them had made it up the stairs and were now exploring the second floor. Hayner was acting like a kid on Christmas, while Olette was insisting that they turn back right now and Pence just staggered about in half regret and half amazement.

Roxas moved away from them and went down the hall a bit until he saw a room with a door that was broken off its hinges. Curiosity dragged him inside.

The window was completely shattered, only the frame remaining, so a nice breeze fluttered in, and the sounds of the train going by reached him. The room was an utter mess; wooden planks everywhere, paint peeling, and even some mold growing in the corner. He walked in and began poking around a bit, when his attention was drawn to a full length mirror on the wall. He approached and even dared to touch it. The coldness shocked him and he pulled his fingers back, little clear finger-shaped holes remaining in the dust. Then, he heard it-more voices.

"_Why won't she wake up?" _

"_I don't know…I've never seen anything like this. What were those creatures?"_

"_I've never seen anything like them before, Dad. They weren't heartless."_

He was caught looking into the mirror, as if he could see who was speaking in it.

"This place, and that place are connected. That's why she can't wake up." He gasped at the new voice and turned his head. No one was there. He could've sworn he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Huh?" He felt stupid for speaking out loud. But he knew that someone had been here. He looked back in the mirror, thinking that he saw her out of the corner of his eye. No, there was nothing, just like always. He strained to try and hear the voices again. Only some birds flying by outside could be heard, and some echoing of his friends' talking down the hall. But he couldn't have imagined that. What places were connected? Who wouldn't wake up? And the heartless?

He walked to the window and pointlessly pushed the window open. The empty frame swung outward, but having it not there made him feel better somehow. He looked at the sky absently.

"Who are you?" He asked without knowing what he was doing. He sighed. What was going on with him today? Was it just one of those bad days that came along every so often, but didn't really mean anything?

"Well, I think we'll meet soon, Roxas."

"Holy-" Roxas fell back from the window and looked around in all directions. That voice again! He was truly convinced this time that he was going crazy. Hearing voices and getting dizzy, and giant keys?! Maybe this was all a dream.

"Roxas?" Olette said, standing in the doorway. Roxas looked up at her without saying anything. "Hayner is trying to get us to go up to the third floor…" She dropped her voice to a whisper, " But you have to talk him out of it! He's not gonna stop unless one of us fall to their death or you say something."

"Me? Why does it have to be me?" He asked.

"What are you guys doing? Kissing?" Hayner smirked, leaning in the doorway. Olette blushed.

"No!" She yelled. "I was just seeing if Roxas found anything."

"Did you?" Hayner asked. Roxas looked around, unsure. Should he tell them about what happened.

"There's a ghost here." Roxas said.

"Seriously?!" Hayner asked, getting excited. "How do you figure?"

"Because I heard a voice…and felt someone touch my shoulder. And I think I saw it…her, too." Roxas explained.

"Oooo. We're in the presence of a lady, everyone." Hayner joked.

"I'm serious. She put her hand on my shoulder and spoke to me!"

"And what did she say?" Roxas froze. He couldn't really explain what the ghost had told him, could he?

"She said…That she would be meeting me soon." He got out shyly.

"So you've got a date?" Hayner laughed.

"Stop it! It's not funny!" Roxas stormed past them both. He didn't appreciated being laughed at by his best friend, especially since this ghost and the voices were really starting to scare him now. Not in the sense that a ghost would usually make you feel, but in the sense that something was very wrong with his life, and something was about to happen. For now, however, he just wanted to leave this stupid place and it's voices.

"Roxas? Come back, man! It was just a joke!" Hayner called, but Roxas ignored him and turned to go down the stairs. He wasn't really paying attention to where he was going, so it was inevitable that he would step on a weak spot. Wood suddenly splintered below him and broke. He felt himself falling as the whole staircase shook.

"Roxas!!!" Someone called- Pence or Olette, he wasn't sure. He felt himself drop with a sickening lurch and blacked out before death claimed him, a sweet scent overwhelming his senses.

----

"I knew it…" He muttered. He pushed back his dark, greenish hair, trying to keep the unruly mass out of his eyes. His partner raised an eyebrow at his remark.

"Knew what?" he asked. He had dark blonde, almost brown, hair, and had tied a blue scarf around his forehead to keep it back.

"What they were trying to do. The rest was a diversion." The first one replied.

"You mean the whole thing with Book City?" The second asked.

"Of course, what else? They've been concentrating there because they're trying to lure a fox out of its hole."

"A fox? Do you have to be so damn poetic? Remind me again why I work with you." The first one smirked at his friend.

"Because I'm the only who can work with you. It's that whole fatal connection thing we have, thanks to that curse."

"Yeah, yeah. The one the old lady gave us. What was that about anyway?"

"Can we focus here? What I realized is that Doriko and Marluxia had their own little deal under the table that I forgot about. The demons may be all concentrating their attack on Book City right now, but they're looking for something else, something more."

"What's that?"

"Doriko wants to lure out the Trinity Soldiers. They're a threat to Organization XIII, so they want them completely gone. Otherwise it'll be bad news for them."

"Then why Book City?"

"There is something here that Doriko-and Organization XIII- want. And that is the forbidden achieve, that only exists here and one other place."

"Hallow Bastion…." The blonde one muttered in realization. "Damn."

"I know Kana is holding them off superbly, but I question how long she can hold them off."

"What do we do, though? Tell Leon?"

"That's all we can do. Even if we could help Kana, we can't pass through that barrier. I wonder if _she_ can though." The two gave each other a last look before going back to the controls of their gummi ship and making course for home.

----

"_Where…am I?"_

"_Who's there?"_

"_Who are you?"_

"_Wait…what's going on? Are there…two Soras?" a female voice responded hazily._

"_Two…of Sora?"_

----

"They've found us." The man in front of the computer screens said, in disbelief and stress. He sighed heavily.

"Already?" The tall figure replied, clock still over his face.

"It's only a matter of time…but we can't let them interfere." The man looked back at him. "He said no." That was more of a statement than an inquiry. The other nodded.

"He's young, but he knows what he's doing."

"Of course. He's the 'first' nobody, after all, and I mean that in terms of our friends."

"There is something I want to know. Why would Nobodies steal photographs?"

"Both are nothing but data. They way those lower Nobodies are, they could never tell the difference." He sighed again, seeming extremely haggard. "We are running out of time. I had hoped it'd take them much longer to find a way in, but I was mistaken."

"Everything is unraveling in our hands, it seems."

"Not yet. We still have some control, and I will use that to it's fullest." He looked at a screen, projecting the progress of their little mission. Data was constantly flowing in, showing a slight movement forward. "Namine must make haste. And we must find Silvia."

"Silvia? Is that necessary?"

"I'm afraid so."

----

_In a little back alley in Traverse Town, Sora was out cold. A dog ran over to him and licked his face, forcing him to come to. The young boy slowly awoke, and got up. Shock over came him and he ran out into the square._

"_Where am I? What happened to my home? My island! Riku! Cedeile! Kai-"_

_He was fighting mass amounts of heartless. The scene switched to show a man with long brown hair and a giant sword._

"_They will continue to attack you, as long as you have the keyblade. Come, you and the heartblade master must meet." Sora got into a fighting stance._

"_Hey! Why don't you come with us? Our ship will take us to other worlds!"_

"_Then…if I go…I can find my friends?" Sora asked._

"_Yes. Go with them." Leon replied. "Especially if you want to find your friends…and catch up with Cedeile." _

"_Seems that she's already long gone." Yuffie added. Sora turned back to the other two._

"_Donald Duck!" The one introduced himself._

"_The name's Goofy!"_

"_Well, I'm Sora. I'll go with you guys." _

"_The keyblade and the heartblade have a mystical power that can drive back the darkness. That's why they are both feared by the heartless."_

"…_and if they work together, they will force the darkness back to the land of death in the west."_

"_Well, when the time comes…I'll kill them both." The demon queen said, smiling innocently._

----

6H: I think this is a good place to end for now. It's midnight and I want the second day to start off in a new chapter. So, a nice little chunk of original getting served up in this chapter. I know the first part of the game is boring, but I'm trying to spice it up! I hope that this whole thing was okay. It'll become important later on. Oh, and two new guys with a connection to Leon?! Well, people have been complaining about all my girls, so now I'm throwing in guys. Don't worry, they'll be back eventually! So leave a review and I'll get working on the next chapter!!!


	5. III:Hooded Man

6H: Third chapter!!!! Well, technically the fifth…but the first two were prologues, so then, the third!!

Anaretsu: Isn't this whole Roxas thing a prologue?

6H: I guess…then the beginning was a prologue to the prologue!!!

----

III-Hooded Man

----

His eyes flew open and he sat upright, a little too quickly, because he felt light-headed. He looked in his hands, remembering the feeling of cool metal, of fighting like that.

"A key….blade?" he said out loud to the empty room. Then it occurred to him-yesterday, the fight, the creature, the photos, the old restaurant, the ghost, and the stairs….

It finally hit him. He was alive?

That couldn't be. The stairs had collapsed while he was on them, and he remembered falling to his death. Though he couldn't feel the pain of it or recall ever reaching the floor, he was sure that he couldn't have survived. But here he was, without so much as a bruise.

He sighed. So many weird things happened yesterday. Could the whole thing have been a dream?

"_This place and that place are connected. That's why she can't wake up."_

'It must've been a dream. Stuff like that only happens in books where some special kid gets a magic weapon and has to fight monsters. But I'm not a special kid. I'm just a normal guy in this quiet little town.' He thought. The bells from the clock tower sounded outside.

----

As he bit into the corner of his toast, a loud knocking came from the front door. He leaned over to see down the hall. The knocking came again. He slid his chair out and walked down to the door, chewing. When he opened it, a cheery Olette was there, a bag hanging off her shoulder.

"Morning Roxas!" she said. "Oh, I didn't realize that you might be eating breakfast."

"It's okay. Come in-I could use the company." He said, stepping to the side to invite her in. She entered and slipped her shoes off while he closed the door and walked back to the kitchen. Setting her bag against the wall, she began to wander aimlessly into the living room.

"Do you really live here all by yourself, Roxas?" she asked as he chugged down his glass of milk.

"I thought I told you already. My parents are gone for the summer, taking care of my aunt who lives in another town." He said, putting his empty glass in the sink and taking another bite out of his toast.

"They left you here by yourself?" She asked, sitting on the deep blue couch.

"I don't mind. Better than having to spend my summer in a smelly house with ten cats and having to listen to an old lady complain about medications. Besides, I like having the time alone." He answered. Olette sighed.

"Just don't spend too much time alone. That can't be good for you." Roxas put his dishes in the sink. Yesterday was still bothering him, and Olette wasn't saying a thing about it. She didn't even ask if he was okay.

"Hey, Olette?" he asked, hesitantly. She turned around and leaned over the back of the couch so she could face him.

"Yes, Roxas?"

"Yesterday, after we found the photos…"

"That was pretty crazy, huh? You getting in a fight with Seifer and then catching the thief…it was really unlike you." He was surprised and lost his train of thought.

"Unlike me? How so?"

"Well, it's just that you're so quiet. But yesterday you were…well…not you."

"That doesn't really explain it, Olette." Roxas replied.

"Sorry. I just can describe it. But when you and Seifer got into that fight, you seemed like a whole other person. I'd expect Hayner to get into a fight like that, but not you."

"Was it a bad thing, then?" he asked.

"I can't say."

"I don't know, Olette. Lately…I've been feeling like I am a whole other person. Like something is very wrong and I can't see it. Like something big is going to change, and it'll change everything in my life as I know it." Olette got up off the couch and entered the kitchen.

"Roxas…"

"I can't explain it. But…I feel like this peaceful, boring life I have is going to be taken away from me." There was a heavy silence upon them, and he felt like he might drown in it. Perhaps he shouldn't have said anything, but this was bothering him. And still, there was so much more he wanted to say-the voices, Sora, the dizzy spells, and the keyblade. Plus, the misplaced memory of him falling to his death yesterday. "Olette, yesterday when we went up to the restaurant…"

"Oh, are you still bothered by that?" She said, as if she knew exactly what he was going to say. She was blushing for some reason, but he didn't think that death was something to blush about. Something was not quite right.

"Well, I fell down the stairs when they broke, right? I thought I died." He blurted out without planning to.

"What are you talking about?" She said, confused. He looked at her for a long time. She really had no idea what he was talking about.

"I thought I fell…that's the last thing I remembered yesterday."

"If you fell, do you really think that you'd still be here?" She asked. He shrugged. "Don't you remember? We were upstairs and you walked in on me and Hayner…. well, you know."

"What?"

"Well, I suspected that you always had a thing for me, but…"

"Wait, what? Olette, I never liked you like that. I just like you as a friend, but what does any of this have to do with-"

"You really don't remember." She said, amazed.

"Remember what?" He demanded. He was freaked out now. Why did his memories not match up with what Olette was saying? She was about to answer when a knock came at the door. He cursed whoever might be at the door in his head and stayed a moment more, hoping that Olette might answer, but it appeared she was not going to. The knocking at the door grew louder. Roxas cursed under his breath.

"I'll get it." He said. He briskly walked down the hallway and opened the door. Pence was there, camera around his neck, smiling.

"Good morning, Roxas! What's up?" He came in without Roxas inviting him (not that he was going to leave his friend out there) and noticed the other pair of shoes in the hall. "Olette's here? Hey, Olette!" She merged from the kitchen, a frown on her face and a blush still apparent.

"Hi, Pence." She muttered.

"Oh, still sour about the thing from yesterday?" He walked up to her and said in a lower, yet still audible voice, "Roxas isn't taking it too well, huh?"

"That's not it!" Olette yelled. Pence chuckled a bit.

"Will someone please tell me what's going on?" Roxas hopelessly begged. He was starting to get annoyed at the secrecy his friends were displaying. Pence looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"What do you mean? You were the one who walked in on them."

"On who?"

"Olette and Hayner." Pence replied. Olette began to look up to the ceiling, trying to pretend to ignore the situation taking place in front of her.

"Doing what? What's the big deal?"

"Roxas, you remember, don't you? We were looking around some of the old upstairs rooms in the restaurant when you went to find Hayner, and…well you found him alright."

"Huh?" Roxas asked, still confused. This event hadn't happened in his memory, he was sure of it.

"Kissing!!!" Olette finally yelled out at last. "You walked in on Hayner and I k-k-k…"

"Kissing? You were kissing Hayner?" Roxas asked.

"He took me by surprise, okay? It didn't mean anything!" She yelled.

"You should've seen the looks on your faces." Pence said. "Better yet, I've got the pictures to let you see for yourselves!" Olette's face went pale.

"No…you didn't." Pence waved his camera around.

"Wanna see?" She lounged at him unexpectedly. He cried out and ran around into the living room. Roxas sighed and ignored as they ran around his house. He tried to think back to yesterday. He tried to see himself leaving Pence's side to find Hayner, see himself walking down the hall, walking into a room and seeing Olette and Hayner together…but he just couldn't. That didn't happen. He should be dead.

A sweet scent began to float around his house. A familiar scent, like it came from such a long time ago…

"_Well, I think we'll meet soon, Roxas."_

'I want to meet you…' he let himself think randomly. But he was broken out of his thoughts by Pence shrieking out and a loud thump. The house shook for a moment, and when it settled down, he noticed that Pence had been knocked down to the floor. Olette was standing over him.

"Give me those pictures! I'm going to burn them!!!"

"Relax! It's not like they actually show you two doing anything!"

"Still-!"

"Alright guys, take it outside." Roxas said. The two looked over at him, and he gave a half smile. "I don't want you to bring my house down, after all."

----

The three of them sat on a bench in Station Heights, eating sea salt ice cream. Pence had left them temporarily to talk to one of his friends from school, leaving Roxas and Olette in an uncomfortable silence.

"Are you mad still?" Olette asked at last. Roxas looked over at her.

"Why would I be?"

"About Hayner and I…"

"I don't really care, Olette. I never felt anything more than friendship for you." He replied, going back to his ice cream. It tasted so good, sweet and salty at the same time, and the coldness was refreshing.

"Really? You seemed…"

"Really. I'm not interested in you, or anyone, like that right now. I don't care if you like Hayner."

"I don't like him." She admitted. He turned to look at her, surprised. That wasn't what he expected.

"You don't?"

"No." They lapsed into silence. Roxas finished the last of his ice cream and stood up, kicking up his skateboard. "Roxas?"

"I'm gonna go for a ride. I'll see you later." He hopped on his board and began gliding away.

"Roxas!" She called, but he just turned back and waved.

----

He grinded along the railing and then did a trick in the air before landing on the pavement and going on his way. He knew that his friends would think he was mad, but he wasn't. If what they said had actually happened yesterday, then he really wouldn't have cared at all. But the thing was, it didn't happen. Something was horribly wrong, and no else seemed to be experiencing this. It was nice that he hadn't heard the voices yet, but…that was also bothering him. He hadn't heard anything today. It was like a normal day, like everything yesterday was a dream. But it wasn't.

He was sure that he fell. He was sure he also saw, and felt, something or someone in that old building. He stopped his board and looked back, up the Station Heights, looming over the Tram Common. He felt like going back there. Maybe if he went, he could meet that figure that he had seen.

"…_I think we'll meet soon…" _

'We'll meet soon…'

"Hey, Roxas!!!" A voice called out. He turned, being broken out of his thoughts. He noticed Hayner walking towards him, looking a little sheepish. When he was within conversational distance, he stopped and stared at the ground, looking uncomfortable.

"What's up?" Roxas asked, trying to sound as at ease as he wanted his friends to believe he was. And he didn't want Hayner to think that he was mad about whatever had happened yesterday, and he just about to say this when his best friend held out a munny pouch. It was Olette's.

"Here."

"What's this?"

"Munny, obviously."

"And why are you giving me munny?" Roxas asked, confused, yet taking the bag.

"Because…after you went home yesterday, we thought you were mad. The three of us got to talking, and we decided we wanted to go to the beach, but it wouldn't be the same without you. That's the munny we raised. If you got any, add it in, and let's go to the station and get on the train." Hayner explained, in a tone Roxas was very unused to hearing from him. He figured he better say what he wanted to now.

"Honestly…I don't care about what happened. I'm not angry with any of you, so stop thinking and acting like that. I don't know if Pence and Olette told you-"

"I haven't talked to either of them today." Hayner replied, turning his back to him.

"Why?"

"I don't know. I just didn't feel like facing them after what happened. Cause you've got to understand, I really didn't know what I was doing. I didn't mean for that to happen, it just kind of did. Olette was there, and we were just talking and I thought for one damn moment-'she's kind of hot' and the next thing I knew…well, you know."

"Hayner, I was going to explain that I didn't even remember that happening. Olette told me this morning, but I didn't believe her cause I don't recall walking in and seeing you guys. I thought that I had fallen through the stairs yesterday and died. But I woke up this morning and everyone had a different story." Hayner looked at him with an amazed look.

"You're screwing with me."

"No way. I seriously thought that all that happened." A bell began to ring from the clock tower.

"Come on. We've got to get going if we want to make it." Hayner said. He was very perturbed about what Roxas had said, but he was trying to hide it. Roxas sighed and put the money in his pocket, skating off after his best friend, towards the station.

----

Pence and Olette were waiting there at the station. They seemed relieved that Roxas had come. Hayner waved at them and they came over to greet the two boys.

"Glad to see you could make it." Pence said.

"I'm glad I was invited." Roxas replied. He looked at Olette, who seemed a little uncomfortable around him.

"So, are we ready to go off to the beach?" Hayner asked, trying to get them all excited.

"You bet!" Pence replied. "I'll race you, Olette!"

"You're on!!" She replied, and the two sped off up the station stairs. Hayner and Roxas watched them, and then were about to follow but Hayner began to speak.

"We can't all be together forever." He said. Roxas looked over at him.

"I guess not. That's what growing up's all about." The blonde replied.

"Better make the time we have left memorable, right?" The two boys looked at each other. Then, Hayner grinned at him. "Gotcha!" And he ran up the stairs too. Roxas shook his head and began to follow after him, but suddenly found himself tripped. He hit the ground hard.

"Roxas?" Olette called. Roxas winced and just knew there would be gravel all in his hands from the way he fell. He was about to get up, but found himself violently jerked upward and looking at a hooded man, whose face was impossible to make out. Roxas tried to break his arm free, but the man just pulled him closer and gripped his arm tighter.

"Let go!" Roxas demanded. The man leaned closer and whispered, so that only he could hear.

"Can you feel Sora?" He asked.

"What?"

"Roxas!! Hurry up!" Hayner yelled. The man was mysteriously gone, as if he had never been there at all. Roxas looked around, and then went to join his friends.

"Got the munny?" Pence asked.

"Yeah." Roxas said. He reached into the pocket he'd put the munny pouch in, but there was nothing there. Maybe he put it in the other one. It wasn't there either. "Hey…where…?" He came to the horrible conclusion that the munny was not in any of his pockets. "Oh, damn it!"

"What is it?" Olette asked.

"I've been pick-pocketed!!! By that man in the coat!" Roxas exclaimed.

"What man?" Olette asked.

"The one in the hood!" Roxas said. "When I fell, he must've tripped me and taken the munny while I was distracted!" The three looked at each other, confused. "What?"

"There was no guy. You just tripped on your own." Hayner replied. "Though, on our way through town, it is possible that someone lifted it off you. Pick-pockets are always lurking around town, you know." Roxas's heart dropped. The bells rang, signaling that the last train for the beach was leaving.

"Shit." Roxas said.

"Hey, don't worry about it. It's not your fault." Pence said.

"Why don't we get some ice cream? My treat." Olette said. Roxas sighed.

"No thanks. I'm kind of tired, so I think I'll just go home and get some of my summer reading out of the way." Roxas said.

"Schoolwork?" Pence asked. "Since when do you do that?"

"How much have you actually done?" Olette said, suspicious.

"None of it." He replied, going down the stairs and getting on his board. "See you guys."

"Later, Roxas." They all said and watched him go off, looking worried.

----

"That was a close one." The man at the computer said. "Nice thinking at the last moment."

"It's not a problem. But really, how hard is it to make a beach?" The other, younger man asked. He was playfully tossing the munny bag in his one hand. It jingled musically with all the little munny pieces inside.

"It'd give the enemy another entry point. Plus, it's just one more place our little friends can run around in, making it harder to keep a handle on them." The first replied.

"I see."

"Anyway, have that destroyed. We can't let that enter the real world, you know." The hooded one ceased playing with it and tucked it up his sleeve.

"Yes. It's a shame though, that they couldn't take their little trip."

"Perhaps. It is all irrelevant in the end though. Don't get so attached to Roxas. He is just our little switch, after all. The switch that will awaken Sora." The man looked up at the screens, showing the endless stream of data that was constantly pouring in. "Namine…" Suddenly, however, the screens all flickered briefly. It was so fast, that neither of them were sure they had seen it.

"What was that?" The other one asked, standing beside the chair the man was sitting in.

"I am not sure." He replied, and began typing away. "That's odd. Some anomaly has entered the system!"

"A Nobody?"

"No…this thing is more like a ghost."

"Is it made of data of some sort?"

"I do not believe it is. But someone, this ghost has gotten inside the simulation."

"So our computer is haunted?" The screens flickered again, as if in response.

"The short and easy answer is yes."

----

Roxas opened his front door and closed it behind him. He kicked off his shoes and stepped inside his hallway, yawning slightly. What a hectic day it'd been. First the mismatching memories, and then the mysterious man, and none of his friends seemed to notice. He'd be surprised if they didn't think he was crazy by now. Honestly, he felt crazy right about now. Maybe this was all long dream that he was stuck in, and he would wake up at some point, and he would tell his friends about it, and they would all laugh together. Really, the bit about doing schoolwork was just an excuse. He just wanted to be alone of a bit to think, but he wasn't sure he wanted to think at all now.

He inhaled deeply and stopped. He smelled something sweet and fruity in his house. The scent did seem a bit familiar, but he couldn't put a name to it. And it seemed to be coming from upstairs. Come to think of it, it was the same scent from yesterday, when he was falling off the stairs and when he saw the figure. How bizarre.  
As he climbed the stairs, he remembered what the scent was of and why it felt so familiar. It was the smell of dragon fruit. He'd had once many summers ago with Olette when they went to Sunset Terrace for the summer festival. One of the street vendors was selling different fruits from all over the place, and he had said that they "came from other worlds." The man had had a thick moustache and a foreign accent neither of the two had heard before, but they were intrigued by what he said. Places outside of Twilight Town? They had never really heard of such a thing. The man showed them a funny looking fruit and told them that it was called dragon fruit, and then he gave it to them to share, for free. Roxas remembered biting into it, and the sweetness that overflowed his nose and his mouth, and the juices that ran down his chin.

But dragon fruit didn't grow around here-it had to be imported from far off.  
He was at his door now, and the scent seemed to be coming from inside his room. Shaking, he grabbed the doorknob and slowly opened his door. As it creaked open, the sight of his empty, messy room greeted him: desk, desk chair, lamp, and clothes on the floor, unmade bed… His blue eyes went wide. There was something different there, all right.  
Sitting on his bed was a slightly transparent girl with dark brown hair pulled back in a braid. She looked up at him with dark emerald green eyes and smiled. She had on a white sweater that left her left shoulder and arm bare, and black pants that flared out from her knees. He just stared at her for a long time, but she didn't seem to mind. She just waited for him to speak.  
"How'd you get in here?" Was the only logical thing he could get out after a long time.  
"Hi there, Roxas." She said gently. "I've been watching over you these past few days." Roxas continued to stare at her for a while, unable to seem to grasp that she had spoken, let alone what she had said. Because the fact that she had spoken meant she was really there and that he just wasn't seeing things. He blinked, but she remained there, looking at him from the corner of her eye, then turning her head to look at him out of the other corner, as if she was waiting for him to say something else. Finally, a single word made its way from his brain to his tongue.

"Shit." She just smiled at him.

"I guess you're a bit surprised that there is a girl in your room, sitting on your bed, and speaking to you like she knows you, huh?" She replied smartly.

"A bit?" He gaped. "Who are you, again?" She stood up and extended her hand to him.

"My name is Arlette." She replied, friendly but firm. He stepped forward and went to take her hand, but his fingers when through them. He gasped.

"What…?"

"I should also mention that I am dead." She added. Roxas felt light headed. Not only was there a strange girl in his room, but she was a DEAD strange girl. Perfect. Now he was really crazy. He sat down on his bed and put his face in his hands.

"I'm imagining this." He told himself out loud. "Go away, hallucination." She looked down at him.

"Roxas, you're not imagining this. I'm real, and I'm here to protect you." He looked up at her.

"Protect me? From what?" He asked. She sat down next to him.

"First of all…" She said, looking right at him. "Would you like to hear the story of how I died?"

----

6H: That's all you get for now. This chapter is getting a bit too long anyway.

Anaretsu: There must be a God.

6H: Stop dismissing my religion and my fanfic.


	6. IV:Arlette

To wh6H: Time for chapter 4!!! This'll be good. A new character? Who could she be?

Anaretsu: A Mary-Sue!!! KILL IT KILL IT DEAD!!!!

6H: Shut up!!! Well, Mary-sue or not, let the story go on.

----

IV-Arlette

----

He blinked.

"As weird as it is that I'm talking to a dead person, humor me." He replied. She closed her eyes briefly.

"It was from a time five hundred years ago. Do you know that legend? 'Streaks of light flew across the sky from the land of life in the east to the land of death in the west.'"

"No, I don't. What does that have to do with you?" Roxas asked. "What does that even mean?"

"The world of five hundred years ago was a very different place from what it is today. All worlds in the universe were one, and it was a very dangerous time of change. The old way of living, the way of the clans, was slowly dying out, and people were falling under the leadership of King Arther and the Disney Kingdom."

"I've never heard of any of this before. You mean that there are multiple worlds out there somewhere?" She looked at him blankly.

"Of course, but back then there wasn't. It was all one."

"And there was a king."

"Yes."

"Okay, I think I get that much, at least." She nodded and moved on.

"I was the daughter of the leader of the Arshmere Clan. We were a brutal, warring people who traveled about the mountains and attacked any other clans that were weaker than us. But there was turmoil within our clan, and soon a civil war broke out. In the end, the Arshmere Clan split into two groups, and we were completely devastated by it. My father was killed in the conflict, so I rose up and took his place as leader."

"You took his place? How old were you?"

"I was fourteen. But I was the only one who could. After the dispute, we were broken, and everyone left had lost hope. Most of our members had left to join the rebellious faction, and we knew that with the king's men on their purging missions…"

"Purging?" Roxas asked.

"Yes. Many of the clans had been attacking the king's citizens, and because the Arshmere Clan was notorious for being violent, we were one of the top targets on the list. I can't even recall how many times they ambushed us on our way to find a campground. Those bastards of the traitorous clan."

"Who is the traitorous clan?" Roxas asked. Arlette's hands clenched into fists and shook.

"The Ryu Clan." She growled. It took him off guard, because she had been so serene before. "When the attacks on the clans began, they ran to the king and agreed to join him as a special guard if they could keep their identity as a clan. They are the most disgraceful of all of us, and they showed no remorse for killing my men. Without a second thought they easily wiped out half of the clans living at the time. We were one of the lucky ones, but our numbers were dwindling. That's when I got the crazy idea of going to see King Arther myself."

"How would the king help you?"

"I hoped to be able to discuss some sort of peace agreement. All I wanted was for the kingdom and the clans to live together in harmony. I made my way to the castle, fully intent on solving the problem peacefully, but on the way there, I was captured by the Ryu Clan and forcefully brought to the castle."

"These Ryu Clan guys sound like real jerks. Why would they capture you if you were going to see the king on a peace mission?" Roxas asked. The whole thing seemed like some farfetched story to him.

"Because I was the leader of a rival clan, and on instinct they took me into custody. It's what anyone would've done in that situation. You belong to a group, and you see the leader of a rival group just walking by themselves in a field alone, you are going to try to take them, so that you can stay alive. I suppose better them than another, wild clan.

"So I was thrown in prison without any hope of seeing the king. At the same time as I arrived, another woman arrived at the castle, invited by the king himself to make a weapon that could force back the impending darkness that was threatening the world. That woman's name was Hikari Tagami, and she was a master blacksmith mage. She is probably one of the most powerful mages to this day."

"Hikari Tagami…she was to make a weapon to force back the darkness."

"Yes. During my time in prison, I came to know a Ryu Clan member who was guarding my cell. He was about my age and we had a bit in common. We would talk a lot, and he told me of the goings on in the court. He said that a darkness was coming from the land of death, and it had the king worried, which was why he had his men seek out Hikari. He also informed me of progress on the weapon and other such news. I learned that the weapon that she was supposed to make had to be split in two because of its power. They were called the heartblade and the keyblade."

"Keyblade! I wielded the keyblade the other day!" Roxas exclaimed. "So the keyblade is some sort of legendary weapon for combating the darkness? An you were alive when it was made?! And the heartblade I remember hearing about in my dreams. The two are supposed to work together, right?"

"Yes. I also know the secret behind both weapons' powers. But the problem was that the weapons did not work. Hikari had fused so much magic into them, but they did not do anything at all. There was a young girl named Silvia, who was a friend of the prince. They said she was a strange child, and that they did not know from where she came. So Silvia had come to give up her heart to the keyblade, so that it would work."

"Give up her heart? Then she would die! Why would she give her life up for that?"

"I'm not sure. I have never gotten the chance to meet her, but I hope to in the future. I assume you know nothing of the trinity?" The blank look on his face gave her enough of an answer. "Each human is made of three things- a body, a heart, and a soul, that all are together in harmony. That is the trinity. One can only die if all three are separated, but as long as at least two parts are together, one will not die. Still, without her heart, Silvia fell into an unbreakable sleep. Her heart was contained in the keyblade, just as she had wished."

"So then they worked."

"The keyblade worked very well. But the heartblade…something was still missing. There was no time to discover what, for the darkness descended upon the kingdom. A darkness called the heartless."

"Heartless?"

"Those who have lost their hearts to the darkness become those lamentable creatures and seek other hearts, in a never-ending cycle of destruction. It was the first attack, and they were coming for Silvia's vulnerable form and the weapons. All hell broke lose that day, and my friend and I sought to escape the chaos. He released me from my cell, and we fled for our lives, but it was easy to see when we got outside, seeing the castle surrounded by heartless, that there was no chance. That's when a miracle happened. Several streaks of light suddenly burst forth from the castle and shot across the sky, like stars, and in my hands appeared on of those legendary weapons. I became the first heartblade master."

"Wow. So you were the first? That's just…wow…" He stared at her for a while, looking over her translucent form in the darkness. It was too impossible to believe. Before today, he had never heard of these weapons or the heartless, but now the first heartblade master was sitting beside him and recounting the story of the first heartless attack.

"I know." She replied, smiling. "It was as if God had given us a fighting chance. I plunged into the battle and took out as many as I could."

"But you said the heartblade didn't work."

"I made it work. It just somehow began to come alive for me and I didn't bother to question it. I took out as many as I could, no matter how many times I was cut, no matter how much blood I lost, I destroyed them one by one, until there was a safe path for us to escape through. However…just as I was about to take that path, I was betrayed." Roxas gasped.

"What happened, Arlette? How were you betrayed?" She seemed to get angry again.

"I was murdered. When I had my backed turned and was too weak to fight back, my so called friend killed me by striking his blade across my back and then running me through from behind." She paused. Roxas couldn't believe it. What a brutal way to die. "I died, of course. There was no way anyone could survive that. It's just as they say. The Ryu Clan really is deceitful and spineless." Roxas stayed silent for a while. Without him noticing, the day had slipped into night, and the stars were out. It must be late.

"Arlette…" He finally said, still a bit horrified by her method of death.

"After that, the one world split into many, and Silvia was gone-her body had been turned into little glass shards-that is, the fragments- and were scattered across the universe, and I began to sleep in what I thought was the world of death, but I was really with the heartblade the whole time. I realize now that it worked because I'd unknowingly given my soul to it."

"So you and Silvia became sacrifices for the weapons…that just doesn't seem right to me." He shook his head. He wasn't sure why he believed any of this, but for some reason, in his head, it just seemed that this all was very possible and was, somehow, familiar.

"It's not. It's very cruel. But that's not how I got into this time in place. You see, I woke up." Roxas did a double take.

"Woke up?"

"Yes. I was reborn. And…it's because of my present self that I am able to be here now." She stood up and walked over to the mirror on his wall. He noticed on her left shoulder blade was a tattoo- a black outlined heart, with two curved lines one each side, looking a little like wings. "Something happened to my present self. She is also the heartblade master, like I was, and she is in the middle of a long journey. The first part to my waking up was when she met someone. That triggered my awakening, and I began to gain consciousness again." She paused, as if thinking. "And, more recently, she was attacked in her world. The attack forced me to wake up fully, and I was able to detach myself from her, as long as she remains asleep." She sighed and Roxas noticed her 'flickering' a bit.

"Arlette!!"

"A little more time, Cedeile. Please." She said to the ceiling. Roxas jumped up.

"Cedeile!? I've heard that name! She knows Sora!!!!" He yelled. She looked at him.

"You've already begun to remember, I see. " She said sadly.

"Remember what?" Her form became more faint.

"_Cedeile, please wake up!!" _A voice from nowhere said. Roxas nearly jumped.

"The voices…they're because of you, aren't they? I can hear them because of you."

"That's right. Those are the voices of Cedeile's friends. They are trying to call her back. But Cedeile is unaware of what is going on in this place. She is not fully aware that I am here, and I haven't gotten the chance to talk to her yet, either. I hope to do that soon, but right now, I need a little more time."

"_Are her eyes moving?"_

"_I can't tell." _

"Arlette, do you know what's happening to me?" Roxas asked quickly, before he lost his chance. She looked at him sadly.

"I don't know much. But I will protect you, Roxas. That is what I am meant to do here." She replied, before completely fading away.

"No!!! Arlette!!!" He yelled. He looked around his room, to see if she might reappear again. The voices were silent, and he noticed that the dragon fruit scent was completely gone as well. He sighed. He could never tell his friends about this: they would never believe him. But at the same time, it weighed heavily on his mind. Arlette had some idea of what was going on, and she was here to protect him. But protect him from what? Could it have something to do with how he wielded the keyblade? He also wondered about Cedeile and her friends. He could imagine them all, huddled around her bed, waiting for her to awaken and be okay. Was it right for Arlette to stay out of Cedeile if this was the result?

He suddenly gave a big yawn. It was very late, and his mind was overburdened with things. He decided to go to bed, so he went out in the hall and to the bathroom to brush he teeth and wash his face. Then he returned to his room, got changed, and laid down on his bed, letting himself fall into, what he hoped to be, a comforting sleep.

----

_Sora and his friends looked different this time, and Cedeile and her friends were there too. They seemed to be in water, cause all of them were in the forms of various fish and were floating about. A powerful looking man with a trident was addressing them._

"_Who are these intruders?" He boomed. Cedeile, Sora, Ryu, Aru, Donald, and Goofy all winced at the volume, and backed up a few feet._

_"I'm not one of them!!" Cedeile yelled. "I'm not one of those damn heartless. I don't care if you're the king of all w...oceans! I'm not gonna stand, er, float here and listen to you accuse me of working for them! I've watched too many people get hurt because of them, and I have fought to avenge every one of them!!! How dare you start telling me I'm in the same league as those demons!!!!"_

_"Yeah. I have...this silly dream...to go and see other worlds. Other worlds with something besides water." she said, looking up at the sky._

_"What's so great about going to other worlds?" she asked. Sora looked up at her. "I mean...you were put in the place you belong for some reason. And you become attached to that place...you even call it 'home.' But if you leave it...then what's the point?"_

_Sora, Donald and Goofy stood before Phil and Hercules.  
"I hereby dub thee junior heroes-"  
"Hey!" Donald yelled. "What do you mean, 'junior?'"  
"You guys still have no idea what it means to be a real hero!!"_

"_Or are you too cool to play them, now that you have the keyblade?" Riku taunted. Sora looked surprised.  
"Riku? What are you doing here? Did you find her?" Sora asked. A blurry image of a red-haired girl appeared briefly. _

_"Cedeile, you have to go with them! The king and all the people in all the worlds need you to go!" Leon yelled. Sora was at the door with Donald and Goofy, waiting for her to come along. Aru and Ryu looked on, worried.  
"I'm stubborn, and I'm not changing my mind about this. I don't care what Leon says, what the king wants-the only thing that really matters to me right now...is gathering the fragments!" She yelled back at Leon. The fuzzy image of the girl appeared again._

"_I can't believe it." Sora said, looking up to the ceiling. "I really flew. Wait until I tell Kai… Will she believe me? No, probably not…"_

"_Well, where are Donald and Goofy?" Sora asked Riku. They seemed to be on some kind of ship._

"_Instead of worrying about them you should be asking about her." He stepped aside to reveal the girl behind him, slumped against the wall like a lifeless doll. _

----  
There was the faint humming of the equipment that had always been her accompaniment to her vital work. She sighed as she looked up to the glass flower in front of her, eyes tearing up. Each line she drew undid her fondest wish, to be the one that got to be with him. Each mark took more of her out of his mind and made him forget her as he remembered everything else. But she had promised him that she would fix him; that she would undo her spell.

"Sora…" She whispered.

----

It was the same as any other morning. Roxas woke up, startled by the memories he had seen, and more so by a girl dressed in white. As he rubbed his eyes, he recalled the happening of last night, and everything that Arlette had told him. Well, most of it, anyway. But she had disappeared. Did that mean that Cedeile was awake? He also noticed the scent of dragon fruit was long gone, and he felt saddened by that.

Then he felt it-there was a presence in the room with him, or so he thought. He turned to look, but no one was there with him. Funny. He thought it might've been the blonde haired girl he saw at the end of his dream. But there was no one there after all. He sighed, but didn't really think it odd that he was feeling these presences at all. Arlette appearing had made him more at ease, somehow. It was nice to at least have some reasoning behind some of what was going on. Unless Arlette herself was a hallucination created by his mind and he really was going crazy. But he wanted to doubt that for now.

After getting dressed and such, he went downstairs to make breakfast before going to meet Hayner and the others at the usual spot. He walked into his kitchen and begin rummaging around for food when that sweet scent caught his attention again. He turned to see if he could find the source, but found Arlette standing right behind him.

"Ahh!" He screamed, practically jumping into the pantry he had been going through. She giggled.

"Surprised, Roxas?" She asked. He couldn't respond at all for quite awhile. Arlette took the liberty of making herself at home, pulling out a chair at the table and resting her ghostly form in it. "Well, Cedeile was very close. She almost woke up, but for some reason she went back to sleep, so I was able to make my way back here."

"Oh." He replied, easing up a bit. Arlette looked a tad more frightening in the daylight for some reason. Maybe it was more apparent that she was see-through, or that she didn't cast a shadow. "So do you think you'll be able to stay for long, this time?" He asked.

"I don't know. It's not really something I can figure out ahead of time. The only thing I can do is take advantage of the time I do have." She replied. He nodded, taking a slice of bread out of a bag and brought it over to the toaster.

"I guess you don't want any." He remarked, motioning to his about to be meal.

"Go ahead. I can't eat anyway." She said cheerfully. He put it in the toaster and waited while it was cooked to a golden brown. It popped out and he took it and spread some butter on it. Then he took that and a glass of milk over to the table and sat across from Arlette. There was an awkward silence over the two of them.

"So…." Roxas began, not really sure what to say. "You said you were going to protect me?" She nodded.

"I will protect you as best as I can." She replied seriously. He let himself lapse into silence again. He could not think of anything to say. Finally, a question came to his mind.

"Why?" He asked. He looked straight at her, right into her dark emerald eyes. She looked back with a blank expression. It was impossible for him to tell what she would say.

"Because there are many people after you. They wish to use you for their own purposes. There is no good or bad-neither side can be trusted." She answered.

"So you're saying that there are all these people trying to kidnap me or something?" He asked, skeptical. "That's crazy. I'm just a normal kid. Why would they want me?"

"You're a little more important than you think." She replied simply. He was about to respond when a knocking on the door turned his attention away.

"Who could that be?" He asked rhetorically, standing up. "I'll be right back Ar-" He turned to look back at her, but she was gone. He sighed, disappointed. He had been so close to finding out something big, and now that chance was gone and he was still in the dark and more confused than ever. He went to answer the door, and found the paperboy had been the culprit. Roxas harshly gave the kid the money his mother had left to pay for the paper, and then shut the door quickly. Then he walked back into the kitchen to finish his breakfast. Besides, Hayner and the others would be waiting for him by now.

----

He locked the door behind him and put the key in the mailbox, just like always. Then it was the walk down Station Heights towards the usual spot. As he passed by the side street that the old restaurant was on, he couldn't help but peek down it to see if Arlette was around, but she wasn't. The scent of dragon fruit was still lightly clinging to the air, so she must've been nearby. He was somewhat disappointed that she wouldn't come out and talk with him, and also worried if Cedeile had woken up.

From the dreams he had been having, he felt that he would like to meet Sora and Cedeile both. Sora seemed very much like himself, but with a big heart and lots of courage, certainly more than Roxas had. And Cedeile was his total opposite-loud and stubborn, but she stood up for herself, and he admired that. And he admired the glimpses he saw of their friendship as well. Even though he wouldn't trade his own friends for the world, he envied such a bond as the two masters had. It seemed, that even though they were far apart, they were with each other always and gave each other strength. He had never felt anything like that in his life, not even for his parents, but he wanted to feel that so badly.

"Morning, Roxas!" He snapped out of his thoughts to see Olette and Hayner walking towards him. Just as he was about to respond, they froze in place. He blinked.

"What?" He started off running towards them, but then skidded to a halt. A girl in a white dress and with pale, blonde hair was now standing directly in his path. He blushed from being rather close to her and stepped back, rubbing the back of his head.

"Hello, Roxas." She said, smiling. He wasn't quite sure what to say. Was this another ghost from five hundred years ago, here to protect him as well?

"Umm…hi…" He finally responded, awkwardly. "And you are…?" He was cut off by her extending her hand to in front of his face. He blinked.

"I wanted to meet you. Just this one time." She replied, almost in a sad kind of way. "And now I have."

"Me?" He replied, surprised.

"Yes." He scratched the back of head in embarrassment. She was a pretty girl, after all. Her eyes were very blue, like his, and he felt that even though he didn't know her name, that he had been very close to her at some point, and that he should know her. Just being around her seemed familiar. As he looked back into her blue eyes, he could tell now. It was a beautiful day, on the beach, and the ocean was roaring…

Suddenly, she just turned and began to walk away. He couldn't bring himself to stop her, and just watched. Then, just as it had happened, Olette and Pence became unfrozen, and continued their sentences as if nothing had stopped.

"Olette dragged me along for shopping." Pence complained as they approached him. Roxas looked back and forth between the two of them.

"It's not that bad, it's fun!! Roxas will come with us, won't you? You like shopping with me." She said defensively.

"Shopping is boring! It's what girls do!"

"Well, I never have time to hang out with other girls because I'm always hanging around with you boys!"

"Ummm…wait…did you see that?" Roxas interrupted their fighting. The both looked at him, confused at what he meant. Then Olette put her hands on her hips.

"He's stalling." Pence said with a sigh. Olette rolled her eyes.

"Very well then. See you later, Roxas. We'll meet up at the Usual Spot for lunch, okay?" The two of them began to walk off. Roxas turned around quick to wave goodbye as they left.

"Sure thing, guys! I'll be there!" He replied. They waved and were out of earshot soon. Roxas walked down the street ramp and around the corner. He looked down at the town. 'Could she have gone to that old mansion in the woods?' He wondered. He remembered a few days before, when he had gone there in pursuit of the photo thief. He wasn't sure what the girl had to do with the mansion, if anything at all, but there was just something about that place that didn't fit in with the rest of this world.

----

After running back to his house for his skateboard, he made his way down to the crack in the wall that led to the woods. He came to a stop right before the cobblestones gave way to grass and weeds and kicked up his board. He decided to just leave it right inside the entrance and go along without it.

Roxas looked around. It seemed a lot darker in the woods than usual. And he began to take the path that be believed led up to the mansion, a great black shadow jumped up from the ground. He watched, frightened, as it popped up in front of him, and then changed into some sort of glowing portal, and out of it came more of the white creatures. He stepped away from them out of instinct, and his heart began to pound in his chest. There was more than one of these things? One was floating dreamily in the air above him and grabbed at his arm, tugging him towards the portal.

"No!!" Roxas yelled. "Lemme go!!!" He pulled out of the creature's grasp and began to run away like a frightened child. The thing was, he didn't know why he was so scared, but he did know that he didn't want to go where those creatures would take him. "Arlette!!!" He called, but there was no answer. Some protector she was. He forgot his skateboard as he ran back into the town, but he didn't care. He needed to get away from those things.

He ran blindly through the streets and found himself in the sandlot. Seifer and his crew were there, huddled in a cluster in the corner. They noticed him and couldn't help but take this chance to get some revenge.

"Hey, chicken wuss!" Seifer called. "Back to f--- with me some more?"

"Punishment." Fuu added, smirking evilly.

"You can't just go picking fights with people, you know? Like with Seifer, you know?" Rai shouted. Roxas stopped and looked at them, still slightly terrified from his encounter with the creatures.

"Look at that face!" Seifer declared. He began to stalk toward Roxas with a haughty look. "He's scared already, you guys! What happened to the smartass from two days ago, huh? The one who's got some guts to f--- with me."

"Coward." Fuu said, the rest of the disciplinary committee joining their leader.

"He's got it coming, Seifer, you know? Just a quick one-two to the face, you know?" Rai motioned a left and right hook. Roxas gulped. No way he could bring himself to fight Seifer straight on again. Luckily, he didn't have to, because the creatures had just flown into the lot, attracting the attention of the others.

"Who's that?" Fuu exclaimed, looking to her leader.

"I've got no idea. But it looks like they don't know the rules of Twilight Town. Better teach them a lesson!" Seifer said, cracking his knuckles. "Get ready to fight them, guys!" Fuu, Rai, and even Vivi took fighting poses and began to attack. Roxas went to take one too, but it just threw him back on the ground. He looked up to see how the others were fairing, and felt his heart drop. It seemed as though they had frozen, just as Pence and Olette had this morning. This was it. He was good as dead.

"Roxas!!!!" A voice called. Just as one of the creatures was coming for him, a figure appeared in front of him and sliced it in half with a streak of light. He blinked.

"Arlette?" He questioned. She turned around and smiled at him.

"Sorry it took me awhile." She replied. He noticed that in her left hand was a long metal staff with a heart and ribbons on the end of it.

"Is that the-?" He began to ask, pointing.

"No time now, Roxas. I have to get rid of these things." She said. She noticed another one coming and ran at it. She swerved around it just in time and attacked from behind. She landed three hits on it and it too, disappeared. "Now, for the third one!" She declared. She looked around, but couldn't find it. Roxas didn't see it either, until he turned around to look behind him, and found it waiting to take him.

"Roxas! Use the keyblade!" A voice yelled, which didn't seem like Arlette's. He looked around the lot and noticed the girl from this morning on top of one of the buildings. She was looking down at the battle, with a look on her face that made him think she wasn't worried. He thought wildly for a moment. How was he to invoke the power of the keyblade?

The creature was waiting for him to respond. It reared up and then shot forward towards him like a cannonball out of the canon. All his could do was put his arms up and hope for the best. But nothing ever came.

----

6H: That ends this chapter. Hope everyone is enjoying it!  
Anaretsu: Not really.  
6H: You don't count! Anyway, I'll probably skip most of the next part to just deliver the good stuff. Things are really going to start to get exciting!!!!


	7. V:An Awakening of Sorts

6H: And here we are, for part 5 of Roxas's story!!!

Anaretsu: He needs a part five? Two parts were already more than enough.

6H: Oh hush.

----

V-An Awakening of Sorts

----

"I brought her, Doriko." The figure responded with a high-pitched, childish voice. Yet his tone dripped with malice. The demon king turned around and leaned against the balcony railing, grinning wide. Through the doorway walked am imposing figure indeed, with her gray wings stretched out behind her. It was the half angel-demon, and she looked at Doriko with narrowed eyes.

"Very good. Welcome, esteemed guest." He said with a sarcastic casualness.

"Why did you bring me here?" She demanded, biting her red lip. He began to approach her.

"You know who I am, right? I am Doriko, the king of all demons! And I've resided over this realm for almost a year's time now. What better way to celebrate the anniversary of my coronation than by adding a worthy partner to my court?" He grinned wide, showing his fangs. "I see you have changed a little bit since I last saw you. You probably don't remember, but this is the first time we've met face to face. I wonder why you chose the way you did. Was it to because you were already rather feminine? Or maybe you had much hate for you creator. Or perhaps…" He grabbed her side, pushing her loose robes against her body to reveal her figure, "…you just wanted these luscious curves." She pushed him away with her wind magic. He stopped himself from being thrown back too far by extending his own red wings. She glared at him.

"Never touch me again!" She demanded harshly. "Now what is it that you want with me!?" Doriko landed back on the balcony and folded his wings back up.

"Let's be a little more hospitable, shall we. After all, I've only had you brought here to make an offer." He said.

"What kind of offer?" She asked warily.

"You and I have a common enemy. An enemy who will no doubt destroy us both if we continue to let them live. This person must be killed to be stopped, for our own survival." He explained.

"What sort of enemy is this?" The angel-demon asked.

"The best kind!" The figure in the background burst out. "One who is in the light, who can use the light to change the darkness! She's all for goodness and love and she's-"

"Hold yourself, my friend." Doriko cut off, with a small smile on his face. "Don't give away all the surprises yet."

"What threat has this person to either you or me?" The angel-demon asked.

"Well, to myself she will pose a big threat to my plans for Book City. Plus, she has a weapon of light that was the downfall of my predecessor. And she was also drive back all the demons under my command if I let her do as she pleases. Plus, she and her little friends will get rid of the heartless, and I can't have that." Doriko explained, rather calmly.

"And myself? I have never met this person before, and I have no weakness to light." She said shortly. "I don't see what value your offer has, so I'll just be leaving." And she turned to exit, but he called out.

"But wait! You forgot what happened in your life before just a little while ago, correct?" She froze and slightly turned back towards him, watching him from the very corners of her eyes. "That person had something to do with that. She and you had a battle, and she wanted to kill you without mercy."

"I don't believe that." She replied. Doriko shook his head slowly.

"You have been fooled. But she really did want to kill you, and almost did, but I stepped in and took care of things. You just barely escaped-I'm not sure to where-and that's when you remember waking up by yourself in that white place, correct?"

"With absolutely no memories, except that I was a half angel-demon with no name." She finished. "Who was that person? Why did she try to kill me?" But Doriko just laughed coldly.

"Angel-demon! That's a name that confused humans gave your kind! Because you were too demonic to be sent from heaven, but too angelic to be from hell! Humans have been calling your kind that for centuries, but it's a mistaken name. Your type is really called a Neutral. Neutrals live in the twilight between dark and light. Unlike the angels and demons of the world, they like to stay out of sight and not get too involved."

"Neutral…" She said coming towards him. "I'm a half neutral, then. And I never want to be called an angel-demon again. I find myself disgusted with humans right now."

"It's because a man made you, and designed you to be an outcast. And then that girl wanted to kill you because of things you couldn't control. It is all right to hate humans. They have not been kind to either of us." She let herself linger just within arm's reach of him. He reached up and touched her dark brown hair as if admiring a specimen.

"So now what?" She asked.

"I'll give you the chance to kill her."

"But don't you want to?"

"I don't care. As long as she's dead." Doriko responded, voice dropping to a dangerous whisper.

"Then I'll do it." She vowed, just a quiet. "I don't deserve to die just because of another's judgment."

"You need a name, though." Doriko said, voice becoming clearly audible again. "Nobodies, twilight, and Neutrals are all intertwined. So from now on, your name shall be Rien. It means 'nothing.' You are nothing personified, and you will show them all you are above that. Isn't is glorious?" The figure still hidden back in the shadows snickered, and Doriko, too, tossed his head back and laughed. The newly dubbed Rien just stood there in silence, looking down at the world below.

----

Roxas opened his eyes and found himself in a very different place from Twilight Town. In fact, he wasn't sure if this place was real at all. There was darkness everywhere, but a light source from below him. He looked down and gasped. He was standing on top of a giant, stained glass window. The artwork on the glass featured Sora in front of an island backdrop, and in the circular frame around him were Riku, Donald, Goofy, and some girl that he didn't think he'd seen before. He was surprised, but then he remembered that Arlette had told him that Sora and everyone else in his visions did exist outside of his dreams. Still, it surprised him to see an image of Sora and his friends outside of sleep.

He stepped forward and three different weapons appeared before him-a sword, a staff, and a shield. Then, a soft, whispering voice came to his ear. It sounded as if the speaker was leaning right over his shoulder, speaking softly.

"He chose the sword. She chose the staff. Which will you take?" The voice asked. Roxas shivered when he first heard the voice, but shook it off as best he could. He looked between the three weapons. A shield could protect him, but how could he fight back? He was tired of cowering. He wouldn't pick that path. Then his turned his attention to the staff. A staff meant magic, right? He wasn't sure he liked that idea either. Then he looked to the sword. Strong warriors had swords and could fight with them. He wanted to be strong.

Roxas walked forward and gripped the sword's handle in his hand tightly.

"That's your choice?" The voice asked. "You are very much like him." As soon as the voice finished, the sword disappeared in a stream of light, and in his hand was the keyblade. He looked at it with wide eyes. How long had it been since he held this weapon? Quite awhile, or so it felt. Then he remembered Arlette's story.

"Silvia," He spoke, trying his hardest to reach her, as if he could by his own sheer will. "Are you listening? Can you hear me? I know that your heart is within the keyblade. Please come to me, and help me. Why are these creatures after me?"

"She will not respond to you. Only to him." The voice in his ear responded.

"Then who are you? Can you answer my questions?" Roxas asked, a little annoyed at the voice. Was this ghostly speaker hinting that Roxas was not good enough to talk to Silvia?

"Why don't you fight a bit to get your anger out?" The voice said. Suddenly, around the platform, and floating in the darkness, were three of the white creatures. AT first they were still. "Get past this stage and I will see you beyond the door." Then, the creatures began to move. They walked onto the platform, and then began to come for him. Roxas gripped the keyblade in both hands and went forward towards them. He took one aside and hit it several times with the keyblade. Then, he thought back to how Arlette fought before, and swerved around it and hit it from behind. The keyblade sliced through the creature and it disappeared in a burst of light specks. He handled the other two in the same manner, and when the third one disappeared, a beam of light came down from above and hit the other end of the platform. A set of rose-colored doors appeared.

"Be careful." The voice started again. Roxas nearly jumped from it. It felt so close to him, like the owner of the voice was right near him. "Beyond that door lies a completely different world. But don't be afraid, and don't stop walking. Come, and we'll meet…" Roxas shook off the bad feeling he had, and went towards the door. He gripped the handles securely in both hands and pulled them open. Despite their look, they weren't heavy at all.

A bright light flooded from behind the doors and blinded him for a moment. When it cleared, he found himself on a stained-glass window very much like the first, but it was red, and featured Cedeile, posed the same as Sora had been, but reversed. In a circle behind her were her friends-Aru and Ryu- along with Sora and a young boy with spiky hair, his back turned.

"If you want to meet, then come." The voice said again. Roxas head a shimmering noise, and looked to see a series of stairs appear at the end of the platform, leading up to another one. He also saw more white creatures, waiting for him.

"Fine." Roxas spat. He ran towards the stairs, and the first of the creatures came for him. He used all his strength to swing the keyblade right through it, and it was gone instantly. He kept repeating this process, some taking a few more hits than others to defeat, until he made it to the next glass platform. The picture displayed below him was of Sora and Cedeile, facing each other with eyes closed. In their left hands, they limply held their weapons, and their right hands were extended towards each other. Around the frame were roses.

"Who are you? I came, like you said!" Roxas yelled to the darkness. There was faint applause as a reply, growing louder until he could make out a figure coming towards him. It was a boy, no older than himself, who strode towards him with an arrogant step. His hair was a medium dark, yet shiny gray, which seemed very disheveled at the moment, and was swept every which way on his head. His eyes were a cold gray-hazel, and he looked unhealthily pale. He was dressed in a tight, dark gray vest and pants that made him look somewhat princely. He even had black gloves on his hands.

"Bravo, young hero. You've made it all this way." The boy said, and then ceased his sarcastic applause.

"Answer my questions! Who are you?" Roxas demanded, getting very frustrated by this point.

"Tell me, do you know anything about Nobodies?" The boy asked. His voice was emotionless and seemed to slither around Roxas like a snake.

"No. What are they?"

"There is no point then, in telling you who I am, besides my name. I am simply called Gold." Roxas thought that he was rather arrogant. "Or rather, that is the name that was given to me."

"By whom?" Roxas asked.

"Her. Silvia." Gold replied simply.

"Why can't I speak to her?"

"Because you are not him." Gold replied again, just as he had before.

"Who is he?! What makes him so much better than me that he can talk to Silvia, and I, a wielder of the keyblade, can't?" He paused and thought back over what he had just said. How had he known to call himself a wielder of the keyblade? He made it sound like there were many others, beside himself, that had held it.

"It has nothing to do with you being better or not. It is just because you are not him."

"That's just what you said before!" Roxas yelled. Gold sighed.

"The reason being that you're not him. She will only contact him, because he was connected to her life. It has nothing to do with who you are as it does with whom you aren't, in the sense that she never knew you, but she knew him. Or a version of him from the past."

"How do you know so much about her? Does she talk to you?" Roxas spat. He wasn't sure he really liked this guy.

"Hardly. I cannot contact Silvia any more than you can. It is simply that I am a part of her. A part she lost 500 years ago."

"What? 500 years ago?" Roxas muttered, mostly to himself.

"You have no idea why I brought you here, do you, Roxas?" Gold said, beginning to walk around the platform. Roxas followed him with his eyes, and then had to turn his head and his body as Gold went, speaking as he did. "You are more special than you think. Such an important player in the game that is starting out. Most everyone is letting you stay in the dark, including yourself. A part of you doesn't wish to remember your past, and even though you don't know it, that part is fighting to keep those suppressed memories down."

"I don't have any idea what you mean. I've always lived in Twilight Town, with my parents." Roxas said.

"Ask Arlette if you don't believe me. But I know the truth. I have been watching this game from a vantage point not only above the board, but above the players as well."

"Are you making yourself out to be God or something?" Roxas asked.

"Hardly. Though you are starting to talk more and more like your old self. I wonder if it would kill you if I forced you to remember?"

"Huh?" Roxas asked. Before he could say any more, Gold jumped high up into the air and seemed to be flying. He landed on the shoulder of a giant, gray monster. On its head was the same symbol that was on the white creatures. Its hands and feet resembled a knight's armor in shape, but its whole body seemed of rubber. Gold smirked.

"I control all these creatures, but no one knows it. They think that they can control them, but I am really the one pulling the strings!" He declared, loud enough so that Roxas could hear him.

"What the hell are you doing, Gold?" Roxas shouted back.

"Entertain yourself with my friend, Twilight Thorn! He is very eager to play with you and your keyblade!" And with that, Gold disappeared from the giant's shoulder. Roxas staggered back as the creature's feet landed on the platform and shook it, almost enough to knock him down.

His first instinct was to run, so he did so, but found that the edge of the platform greeted him along with the threat of a death fall. He flailed a bit to get his balance and turned around to see Twilight Thorn ready for a fight. Roxas gripped the keyblade tightly, and braced himself for the worse. There was no way he could survive this, and he wasn't sure if Arlette would save him this time.

He felt his body being dragged up by an invisible force, and he felt like crying, as much as it made him feel pathetic and weak, he just wanted to cry. He was going to die here. He had no idea how to fight. Twilight Thorn had disappeared for a moment, but then he saw it pull itself forward in a sickening way. It grabbed him in both hands, which felt like a sick mix of rubber and silk that's just too soft for anyone to touch and not feel sick.

As if Gold's voice had been replaced by a gentler, more guiding one, and told him what to do, Roxas broke his bonds and forced the giant hands to release him. Then he flipped up in the air and began attacking Twilight Thorn's head without relent. It was a desperate sort of attack, the kind a wounded animal might make to save itself from a predator. Roxas kept attacking as long as he could, but then Twilight Thorn would have it anymore and smacked him back onto the platform. It slithered down one of the sides, and Roxas thought it was over. He sniffed loudly-he hadn't realized he had actually been crying at all.

Just then, the dread built back up in his chest as there was a giant rumbling sound and the platform tilted onto its side. Roxas held onto the edge and saw his nemesis standing on the now upright edge of the stage, with a giant glowing mass of energy. Roxas pushed his feet against the stained glass with all his might and flung himself into the air, right in the path of the attack. Tears streaming again, but a look of sheer anger and determination on his face, he wound the keyblade back with both hands.

'I have to…!' He thought, and slowly, let one of his hands drop from the handle. Then, with his other hand, he flung the keyblade like a boomerang, right towards the epicenter of the mass. He was rewarded when the mass exploded on its user, causing it to roar out. Roxas felt himself falling again as the keyblade found its way back to his hand. His feet landed firmly back on the platform, which was right side up again, and saw Twilight Thorn lying stretched out over half of it. He ran up to it to attack, but one sweep of a giant arm knocked him flat on his back. He grimaced in pain and got himself back on his feet.

Twilight Thorn then began to shoot crooked beams of gray energy all around their fighting stage. Roxas slid under and around them, and then glided up with some mysterious force, up till he got to the back of its head. And once again, he attacked fiercely. His foe seemed to be wearing down, because it did not make so much effort try and stop him, but let itself be beaten around until Roxas miscalculated his move and fell back to the ground. Twilight Thorn zapped the energy around the ring again, and Roxas felt himself get hit in the arm. He cried out, but continued trying to dodge. He was hit again, this time in the back of the shoulder. He fell forward, and was hit again in his right side, sending him flying across the ring. He felt his side and gasped. Hot, sticky blood was leaking out of a huge cut. He threw off his white sweatshirt and wiped the blood off his hand on his pants. A read smear was left on one knee.

'Enough.' He thought. 'I've come too close to die here.' Roxas ran up to the creature and pushed off the ground again. Then he flew forward and attacked Twilight Thorn head on. It put up a hand to block him, but Roxas torn through it like a piece of paper. The creature made a noise that sounded like surprise, but the blonde didn't stop. Instead, he landed on the disabled hand and then ran up towards the head. Twilight Thorn went to use the other hand to stop him, amassing another energy charge, but Roxas jumped up into the air and got out of the way just in time for it to blow off its own arm. Roxas landed on the glass again and waited to see if his work was done. Twilight Thorn screamed out loudly. Roxas felt slightly relieved, but suddenly the keyblade disappeared from his hand. He gasped and then looked back up to the giant as it began to fall forward onto him. He started to uselessly run, but fell in weakness from having lost a little too much blood, and could only watch as the creature came down on him.

Twilight Thorn began to dissolve in a giant pillar of darkness that had engulfed the whole stage, and Roxas was finding himself drowning in that same darkness. He struggled, trying to somehow free himself from being sucked in. He reached out a hand, as if someone might save him.

"Arlette!!!!" He screamed as loud as he could. Where was she? She promised to protect him!!

But his fears were quenched almost instantly, when a soft hand grabbed his own. The hand was small and slender, but very strong as well. He let his body relax, and gripped the hand back just as tightly.

----

When he was aware of himself again, he found that now he was in a room that was completely white. Sitting on a ledge before him was the girl from that morning, looking at him and smiling.

"Y-"He began, relieved. But she put a finger to her lips, simulating that he had to be quiet. He shut his mouth promptly.

"My name is Namine." She replied. He nodded. Namine…it seemed like a familiar name he had heard once. "Roxas…do you remember your real name?" She asked. He was about to answer, but a portal appeared next to her. She turned and gasped as a hooded man stepped out.

"Say no more, Namine! This isn't your place!" The figure said. He grabbed her by the arm, forcefully, but gently.

"The pickpocket!" Roxas said out loud. The figure looked at him.

"How was your meeting with Gold?" He asked coldly.

"Gold!?" Namine exclaimed. "Wait! Let me talk to Roxas some more!"

"He doesn't need to know." The man told her.

"But if he doesn't know, then-"The figure pushed her back through the portal and she disappeared.

"Namine!" Roxas yelled. He turned his attention back to the man. "What did you do to her?" The man remained silent, and opened another portal behind Roxas. Roxas turned, surprised as what had happened, but before he could act again was pushed through by the man.

----

"Strike a pose, ya know!"

"How about this?"

"That's perfect, ya know!"

"Keepsake."

"We really showed them!!!"

"That's because Seifer's the greatest, ya know! Always able to put punk bi---s in their place, ya know!"

Roxas opened his eyes. The pain that had racked his body before was gone. He had his sweatshirt again, and all his injuries seemed to be gone. He looked around and was back in the sandlot. The white creatures, along with Arlette and the scent, were gone. He then noticed Fuu taking pictures of Seifer doing all sorts of 'tough' poses. Roxas stood up. It would've been stupid to ask these guys about everything he'd seen, so he'd just ask about the white creatures.

"Hey! The wuss is up!" Vivi exclaimed, pointing. Roxas approached them.

"Those freaks in the white jumpsuits are gone. We took care of them while you were too busy fainting." Seifer said cockily. Rai began laughing.

"Fainting, ya know? Like a girl, ya know!" He shouted. Fuu glared at him and pinched one of his ears.

"Not funny." She growled.

"Ow!!!! That hurts, ya know!!!" Rai said.

"How?" Roxas asked, turning his attention back to Seifer.

"We put them in their place." He replied.

"Cakewalk." Fuu added. "Victory."

"It was awesome! Seifer really took 'em out!" Vivi said, not wanting to be left out. Seifer ignored him anyway.

"Do you know what they were?" Roxas asked.

"Outsiders, that's what." Seifer answered. "Those things think they can just come in here and f--- things up. Not on my watch, that's what I say. I took disciplinary measures."

"Seifer is always looking out for the town, ya know!" Rai said, having freed himself from Fuu's death grip. Then Roxas noticed his own friends in the corner, having just come down from the back alley. They seemed surprised, but then Hayner put on an expression of betrayal. He turned and ran back up the stairs. Pence and Olette followed him.

"Wait up, guys!" Roxas exclaimed. He chased after them, his best friend now taking up the majority of his mind.

----

Roxas walked into the usual spot, not knowing what to expect from his friends. They were all sitting around, as usual, eating sea salt ice cream silently. Pence and Olette side glanced at him, but Hayner flat out ignored him.

"So…you hung out with Seifer's gang today?" Pence asked.

"What? No! It's not like that." Roxas said, trying to explain himself. "It was an accident. Remember that photo thief! Well, there are more creatures just like that and they attacked and-"

"Save it." Hayner growled. Roxas was shocked at his best friend's harsh tone.

"Hayner…."Olette warned. He turned and hopped off his perch, then strode towards Roxas.

"Something's up with you, man. You've been coming up with all these wild stories lately and have just been acting weird-going off by yourself and then hanging around Seifer's gang."

"I'm telling you, I wasn't hanging out with them!!" Roxas yelled. "You never listen to me! And so what if weird stuff has been happening? What does that matter?"

"Because you're taking it out on us! You've been snapping at us and going off by yourself!" Hayner yelled back.

"Because I'm scared, Hayner! I'm freakin' scared of what's happening to me! Give me a break! I try to tell you guys about it, but you act like I'm crazy!" Roxas didn't want to deny that he was scared any longer. It was pointless anyway. He'd always be scared and quiet. He could do nothing. He could hardly control his life.

"What's happening to you? Why won't you tell us?" Hayner asked.

"You'll treat me like I'm crazy and deny everything that's happening to me!" Roxas screamed.

"Is that all you think I'm good for?" Hayner spat, anger rising. He wound back his fist, but Pence jumped up to restrain him. Olette grabbed Roxas, just in case he should try to fight.

"You never listen to what I have to say!!" Roxas yelled, louder than he thought he could. "All you care about is everyone seeing you! Hayner: an attitude problem and tough guy!!! The spotlight is all for you, isn't it?"

"You a---hole!!!" Hayner yelled back. Roxas was actually surprised by this, and finally was able to fully grasp what he had said. "You're the whiny, shy, injured animal around here!"

"I'm a what?" Roxas asked incredulously.

"You heard what I said!"

"Would the two of you stop it!?" Pence yelled, trying his hardest to hold Hayner back. Roxas shook Olette off of him and assured her he wasn't going to fight.

"If you rather I wasn't around, then I'll go now." Roxas said, turning to leave.

"Fine. I've got a promise to keep." Hayner said, clearly pissed off. "Will you keep yours?" Roxas was puzzled for a moment, but then he gasped. He turned, and without looking at any of his friends, walked out onto the street.

----

"Roxas?" He looked up from where he sat on the edge of the wall and saw Arlette sitting near him. He tried to fake a smile, but was unable. "What's wrong?" She asked.

"It's nothing really." He replied. After he had left the usual spot, he had walked down to the Tram Common and had moped around till he found a good spot to sit. The tram glided by below them, and left a breeze in its wake that blew his hair.

"That's not true." She replied. "You got into a fight with Hayner. I was watching."

"Yeah." Roxas replied. Then, he blurted out a thought without really thinking about it. "You're some lousy protector. Where were you when I was fighting Gold and that creepy monster?" He looked at her, hurt. "You promised to protect me." She sighed heavily, and then he wished he could take it back. He had hurt her feelings.

"I'm so sorry, Roxas. You're right-I should have never promised to protect you." She replied. "It's just getting so much harder to move around in here…"

"No, wait! I should be sorry, Arlette." Roxas said quickly.

"Why?" She asked, looking at him sadly. "I pretty much left you for dead. I didn't go to you when you needed me. I tried, Roxas, but something kept me back. I wanted to help you sad badly, but Gold is very powerful."

"Who is Gold? He said he could control those creatures."

"He likes to think that."

"Is he bad?"

"He's not on our side, but he's not with anyone else either. He's in this for himself, for his own preservation."

"He said…he said that he was watching everything from above…is he like a god?"

"Hardly. Don't ever believe what he says in regards to that. He likes to think that he is above everyone else, but he's no better than you or me." Arlette replied.

"Do you know him?"

"A little. Not much to be of any use to you, though."

"He said he's part of Silvia." Roxas said after awhile.

"Yes. That's right." Another silence. The tram swept by again, and the bells from the station clock tower began to ring out over the town. "Hayner said he made a promise, and you seemed to know what that was. What was he talking about?" She asked after awhile.

"Oh…yeah…" Roxas said, looking up to the golden sky. "It was a year ago…"

_The four of them stood around a poster, advertising the annual summer Struggle- a competition of the best of the best to show off their skills. Setzer had been champion for the longest time-a little too long. Hayner and Roxas looked up at the poster longingly._

_"This sucks!" Hayner said. "It's not fair that you have to be at least fifteen to enter!"_

_"Seifer is going to enter this year. He's old enough now." Pence remarked blandly. "Not that I could enter anyway. I'd rather just take pictures." _

_"Ugh, and that Setzer guy is so full of himself!" Olette exclaimed with disgust. "The way all the girls swoon over him, and how he walks about so arrogantly! It's sickening!"_

_"You're right with those swooning girls, Olette." Hayner joked._

_"I am not!!"_

_"Well, what about next year?" Roxas asked. "Can't we enter then?"_

_"Sure thing!" Pence said. "You and Hayner will both be fifteen by next summer!"_

_"Hey, that's a good idea." Hayner remarked, the gears beginning to turn in his head. "You and I will make it to the finals, Roxas!"_

_"Me? I can't-"Roxas began. Hayner slung an arm around his shoulder._

_"Of course you can! That way, no matter which one of us wins, we can split the prize four ways!" His friend continued. _

_"That would be awesome!" Olette said. Roxas gave a weak smile. _

_"Promise?" Roxas meekly asked, looking up at Hayner. Hayner turned back to him and gave him a big grin._

_"It's a promise!" He replied._

"And that was it. I had almost forgotten, but now I'm glad I remembered." Roxas finished. He looked down to his shoes. How could he fulfill his promise now when he and Hayner had had a fight? There was no way he could face his best friend now, especially not after the horrible things he said. Arlette noticed him looking so morose. "But what's the point? Hayner will never forgive me for the things I said." Arlette thought for a moment, and then came up with an idea.

"Roxas!" She shouted. She grabbed him arm and yanked him towards her. She pulled up at the corners of his mouth with her index fingers, so that he was making a reluctant and completely ridiculous grin. "Smile!" She demanded. He was totally taken off guard.

"Arlette?!" He said, thought it was kind of garbled.

"Come on! Cheer up! You're gonna fulfill your promise tomorrow! You're going to compete in that struggle competition, and you're going to show Hayner that you care about him!" She said. She let go of his mouth and it dropped into a stunned droop. "So…" She said, "You can do that…right? A fight between friends is normal. It shows how much you care…" Roxas looked down at the stone for a while, and then looked back up at Arlette, this time, with his own shy smile.

"Yes. I will fulfill my promise. A promise is a promise, right?" He said. She nodded. He hopped, off the wall and looked up at the clock tower. How strange, but somehow he felt like he was running out of time.

----

6H: Sorry this was a long one. Arlette is able to touch Roxas now, when before her hand went through him!!! What does it mean?! Something, but I'll leave it up to interpretation. Also, Doriko's name reminds me of Doritos…huh. Anyway, next chapter will be up soon!! The struggle battle, and Roxas meets an old friend!


	8. VI:Struggle

6H: So I turned 18 at the beginning of the month. There's so much stuff I can do now. I can gamble, take more than one person in my car, vote…coughbegingmyplantotakeoverthegovermentbyunitingthethridpartiescough

Anaretsu: That's um…. stupid.

6H: I should kill you off now. You're a boring character, and aren't contributing to the story.

Anaretsu: You can't write me off the show!!!

6H: I can and I will! I have the keyboard!!!

Anaretsu: steals keyboard

6H: Come back here!!!!

----

VI- Struggle

----

_Cedeile began to disappear, the two keyblades stuck through her heart._

"_Cedeile!!!" Sora cried. She smiled weakly at him._

"_I'll be waiting for you…at the last…world…"_

"_No matter how far apart we are, we'll never forget each other." Aerith said. "Our hearts are always together."_

"_Kairi! Kairi, wake up! Open your eyes! Please…" Sora begged the red haired girl._

_"The keyhole cannot be complete." he said, jumping off his perch high above and floating down to land in front of the keyhole. "...as long as the last princess of heart still sleeps."_

_"It is I, Ansem! The Seeker of darkness!"_

_"Sora!"_

_"Sora? What are you doing with the dark keyblade?" Donald asked. Aru looked up at him and Ryu raised his head from the floor. Sora thought long and hard for another moment and then looked over to his friends, giving them his trademark grin, before jamming the keyblade in himself. He hardly made a sound of pain as his body lit up and streams of light began flying around the room._

_"You always protected me Sora, so this time...I'll protect you." Suddenly, there was a flash of light. Everyone turned back to see what was going on. The heartless cowered away in fear. Embracing Kairi in his arms was the keyblade master, Sora._

_"Kairi...thank you...you saved me from the darkness." They released each other, smiling. He then turned and took out his keyblade, stepping beside Ryu._

_"You're back. Took you long enough." he said jokingly._

----

Roxas awoke suddenly, another wave of memories having flashed before his eyes during the night. He was fairly sure he had just seen Cedeile's death, but that couldn't be right, as Arlette said Cedeile was alive, if caught in some mysterious sleep.

"Good morning!" He looked to the side and saw Arlette sitting on the side of his bed, one leg crossed over the other, and looking cheerful, if not slightly more solid than usual. He sat upright and rubbed sleep out of his eyes. How could she be so awake in the morning? That's right- she was dead. Ghosts didn't need to sleep. He looked out the window. Sora and Kairi had made a promise to meet again someday.

"Promise…" He mumbled. He rubbed the back of his head and looked back at Arlette. "What sort of mess have I gotten myself into?" He asked her.

"We'll never know unless we move forward." She told him with confidence.

"Oh yeah, about something I saw in the memories…Cedeile, did she die? I mean, I know you said that she was your present self, but at this point, if you told me she had been brought back from the dead, I wouldn't be surprised." Arlette laughed.

"I'll explain it some other time. Now, you have to get ready, or you'll be late."

"So now you're acting as my mother? Why don't you try being a better guardian first?" He teased. She laughed and poked him in the shoulder.

"Shut up." She replied, and he tumbled out of bed and went to get dressed.

----

The sandlot was crowded with people, gathered around a newly constructed ring, specially made for the annual fight. Banners were hanging from the walls to proclaim the event, and even fireworks were being set off. Olette and Pence hung in the crowd, with relatively decent seats.

"So," Pence asked, fiddling around with his camera, "who are you gonna root for?"

"Both of them, of course!" She replied. Then she sighed. "After yesterday's fight, I hope that Hayner can get over his stubbornness and apologize."

"So it's Hayner's fault?" Pence asked.

"Oh geez, I don't know! I just hope they can get over this."

"Aren't they up against each other first in the semi finals?" Pence asked. "Now that'll be some great photos."

"That's right. So they can take their frustrations out on each other!" She exclaimed, hopeful. "Then they'll get over their thick headedness and make-up."

"Yeah, kiss and make-up, ya know!" A loud voice proclaimed behind them. Rai appeared out of nowhere and began to laugh at his own joke.

Meanwhile, the announcer was introducing all the contestants, while Roxas stood by himself, sort of away from everyone. Being in big crowds by himself made him feel uneasy. Suddenly, Arlette appeared behind him and slipped her arms around him in a reassuring gesture.

"Don't worry! Everything will be fine." She said.

"I hope so." He said. "It's just that Hayner's my best friend. If we never spoke again because of this stupid fight, I'd-"

"Remember, smile!" Arlette insisted, pushing him out into the open as his name was being called. Everyone looked at him, and many were cheering, but he still felt nervous. It was time for his match against Hayner.

The two boys walked up onto the ring and met at the center. Hayner said nothing to him-he didn't even look in his direction. The manager of the Struggle came up to them and handed each a struggle club- the weapon used for the fight. They were made of soft foam so that no one would be hurt. The overweight man patted each of them on the shoulder, in the kind of way that said "You're making me a lot of money. Do well!"

The two faced each other. Hayner just glared and pointed his weapon at him. Roxas sighed.

"Look, about yesterday…I'm sorry, all right? I'm sorry it feels like I'm pulling away from you, and I didn't mean all the stuff I said." Hayner blinked.

"What? You're still worrying about that?" He asked, as if surprised. Roxas blinked.

"Well, yeah. You were really angry."

"You need to learn to let that stuff go!" Hayner told him.

"I've got a lot on my mind."

"Yeah…sorry for the stuff I said too." He responded. "But what do I have to be sorry for!" He said with a trademark big grin. Roxas was surprised, but then he smiled back. The two then took a fighting stance and began battle.

----

After a hard earned victory over Hayner (which he took surprisingly well) Roxas advanced to the finals against either Seifer or Vivi. In fact, at present, their match was going on.

"I still don't get it!" Hayner said, sitting on a bench next to Roxas. The two were resting from their fight. "There's no way that Vivi is fifteen! Not even a midget fifteen year old. I won't believe it!"

"Does anyone know how old he actually is?" Pence asked. He snapped another picture.

"I've never thought about it. I've always assumed he was younger than us." Olette said, watching the fight. "It's so bizarre that he's in the struggle. I never pictured Vivi the type to be any good fighting, to be honest." Roxas glimpsed at the fight, but was too distracted to stay focused. On the other side of the lot, Fuu and Rai were watching with extreme disapproval on their faces. Had Vivi betrayed them by entering the struggle and going up against their leader? Looking around, he could tell that Arlette was also watching, from a dark corner neat one of the exits. She needn't bother-no one could see her, so she didn't have to hide.

Suddenly, the crowd was completely silent. Roxas looked back at the ring. Seifer was down? That couldn't be right….

"And the winner…is Vivi?" The announcer said, completely stunned.

"Whoa!" Hayner exclaimed. "Where the hell did that come from?" Vivi wobbled off the stage and pushed through the crowd towards the back corner. Meanwhile, Seifer picked himself up and walked out of the ring as well.

"I never would've expected that! Good thing I got pictures to prove it!" Pence said, excited, as the crowd rose up in cheering again.

"That's not Vivi." A new voice said. The group turned. Seifer and his group were there, looking none too happy. They began to walk past them, and as they did, Seifer turned to Roxas. "Destroy him." He told him. Roxas blinked, and then they were past, melting away into the crowd.

"I think he took it a little personally." Olette remarked.

"You know what this means, Roxas? You're up next!" Hayner jumped up and dragged Roxas to his feet. "Now remember…"

----

Arlette watched as Vivi hobbled over to the same corner in which she stood and sat against the wall. She glared down at him.

"Rather bold of you to come alone." She said softly. The mysterious kid just laughed to himself.

----

This was it-the finals. The announcer began his whole routine about how it was highly unexpected to see these two, of all people, in this last round to decide the tournament.

"And whoever wins this fight will get a chance to face the champion, Setzer!!!!" There was instant swooning from the ladies in the crowd. Roxas took up his club and got ready to face Vivi. Arlette made her way directly through the crowd, passing through them with ease. She stood right against the stage, watching carefully. Roxas looked right at her and smiled nervously. She smiled back and waved.

"Are both contestants ready?" The announcer asked. Roxas turned back to Vivi.

"I'm coming for you, Roxas!" He cackled under his hat. The announcer gave the cue and Roxas stepped forward, but then something odd happened-it all went quiet. He looked around-everyone was frozen. Even Olette and Pence were caught in a goofy cheering pose.

"Arlette?" He asked.

"Watch out, Roxas! That's not the person you know-it's a nobody!!!" She shouted. He turned back to Vivi and saw that he had been replaced by another of those white creatures. He looked down at his hand and saw that his club too had been replaced-by the keyblade. He charged towards the creature and disposed of it shortly. Arlette sighed as he watched.

'He's gone back to a one-handed style. That must mean that he's waking up.' She thought sadly. She climbed up on stage and ran next to him. "Are you all right?" She asked.

"It was easy." He replied with a small grin. Suddenly, they heard clapping from out of nowhere. They looked around for the source, and both of their eyes landed on a hooded figure coming towards them.

"All right Roxas. Not bad at all. Fight, fight, fight!" The figure said with sarcasm. Roxas glared and stepped in front of Arlette.

"Roxas!"

"Hold on a minute, Arlette." He replied. She nodded reluctantly, and Roxas approached the figure cautiously. "And you are…?" He asked.

"Come on! Don't you remember your best friend? It's me-Axel." The figure pulled his hood back to reveal spiky red hair and piercing green eyes. "Long time no see, XIII. Had a nice vacation? Cause now it's time for you to come home."

"Home?" Roxas asked. Axel sighed.

"No one told me it was this bad…" He said, half to himself. "Not even the dusks can fix this. Hell, I don't know if I can…"

"What are you talking about?" Roxas finally asked. Axel looked around.

"This place is made by that old guy, right? So that means there's no time for a Q&A session. I'm supposed to bring you back to the Superior-conscious or not." Suddenly, in tiny bursts of flame, appeared two red and silver chakrams with blades. They rotated around before coming to rest in his grip. "Roxas, I'd really prefer to not have to knock you out, but if necessary, I will." Roxas gripped the keyblade tightly in one hand.

"I'm not going with you anywhere." He replied darkly. Arlette gasped and took a few steps back.

'Is he…he's changing back to his old self again.' She thought.

"Fine, XIII. Roxas, the one chosen by the keyblade and Silvia." Axel said, getting into a battle pose. Roxas ran at him, but Axel brought up his weapons faster for a block, which sent Roxas hurling back. "Is that it? Come on-you're stronger than that!" Roxas gritted his teeth and went at him again. This time, Axel threw his chakrams at him. Roxas dodged them, but they came around from behind and tore through him, causing him to cry out. Axel caught them and seemed to have some look of regret and perhaps pain on his face.

Roxas didn't let that slow him down; he went right up to Axel and began to swing the keyblade towards the fire wielder. Axel blocked each attempt with ease and skill, finally forcing Roxas back with a blast of fire that came up from nowhere. Axel threw the chakrams again, but once again, Roxas rolled out of the way and ran towards him.

"Did you forget-they'll just come back again!" Axel shouted. Suddenly, however, Roxas jumped up and flew into the air above, so that the chakrams passed under him. Axel was astounded and let himself be taken off guard as the chakrams flew past him and Roxas slammed the keyblade into him. Axel was sent flying a few feet, and landed on the ground. Roxas stood above him, breathing hard, and tried to catch his breath. Axel slowly got up and summoned his weapons back to his hands. Then, he began to laugh.

" Ah, Roxas…now you're starting to get your old style back. That was good, I'll admit. I can give credit when credit is due. Now I understand what Larxene meant, about fighting you."

"Who? What?"

"Your guard's down!" Axel suddenly came up fast to Roxas, almost making a finishing blow, but something stopped him, and there was a clanging of metal ringing through the air. Roxas opened his eyes hesitantly to look, and saw Arlette had jumped in the way at the last minute and had blocked both of Axel's chakrams with the heartblade. She held him off quite well, and the two struggled against each other's weapons, both of them sliding and pushing against each other while trying to gain ground. Finally, the two pushed away from each other, Axel jumping backwards and trying to regain his stance. He stared at Arlette for a long time before going back to Roxas. "Who's she?" He asked, with a hint of disgust.

"I'm going to protect him." Arlette replied. Axel was still for awhile, and then laughed.

"What a joke! Where's Cedeile? I thought she was in possession of that little magic wand! And yet you're here instead. It's a disappointment- Cedeile puts up such a spirited fight." Axel replied. He looked back to Roxas. "What are you doing?"

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"You know what I mean; keeping this girl around. Come on Roxas, you don't need her. This girl's ruining you-she's trying to keep you from your true self, you know."

"You're lying. Arlette is my friend." Roxas replied.

"So, your name is 'Arlette?' Tell me something then: Are you trying to make Roxas come to your side?" He asked. Arlette glared back at him.

"I want Roxas to be free. I want him to do whatever he wants. I don't think he wants to go back to you." She replied.

"What if he remembers and does want to come back?" Axel asked.

"What if, indeed." A new voice said. The scenery around them warped a little.

"Whoa! What was that?" Roxas exclaimed, but no answer was given. In a small flash of light appeared the form of a new man, with red bandages tied around his head.

"So it was you…" Axel spat. He began to charge up his chakrams, and then he threw them towards this new presence. The man just smirked as they flew towards him, and then hit an invisible wall, bouncing away harmlessly. He turned to face Roxas.

"Roxas, this man speaks nonsense, and that ghost is only causing you trouble!" He declared. Arlette glared at him with the same level of hatred as Axel did.

"You!" She yelled. She ran at him with the heartblade unleashed and went to attack him. The same result came from it, as she hit the same invisible wall and was sent flying back across the ring. When she came to a stop, she slowly lifted herself up and glared at him from the ground. "You…." She growled.

"You've been causing us enough trouble." He said to her, and then paid her no more mind. Axel finally shouted out.

"Don't let that guy deceive you! Remember-XIII, and home, and-" He was suddenly thrown back.

"That's enough out of you." The man said.

"I'll kill you!!" Arlette seemed to come flying out of nowhere, attempting to attack him again with the heartblade brought back.

"No, Arlette! Stop! You can't-!!" But she flew up against the barrier and was thrown back again. She remained down for quite some time before she attempted to lift herself up.

"What do you think you can do?" The man asked her. "It's too late for anyone to interfere. Everything is as it must be."

"No! What about Roxas? Are you really going to just-"

"What's going on?" Roxas yelled. He was bitterly ignored.

"This is how it shall be, and no one, living or dead, can stop it!" The man shouted at her. He turned back to Roxas.

"Roxas!!" He called.

"Roxas!" Axel shouted, still slumped up against a wall. Roxas felt his head spinning. Nothing was making any sense! Time was stopped, Axel, XIII, going home…

"Hayner!!!! Pence!!! Olette!!!!" He screamed out. Then it all came back to him-the cheering crowds, the fight, time itself was turning forward again. Roxas hardly paid attention to the announcement making him champion, or his friends gathering around him, or Vivi walking off the ring in a confused daze. All he could think of was Axel and the strange man in red.

----

6H: Sorry about the lack of struggle fights, but while writing this, I was in just no mood to deal with that. I just wanted to get to the good part.

Anaretsu: Yeah, okay. There is no good part in this story!!!

6H: Plus, I got a new computer, so I had to set that up and all, and I went away for a few days, which delayed me getting internet too. The next chapter will be along shortly!


	9. VII:The Message from the Clock Tower

6H: The story of my life is this: once again, I'm being too lazy, so I'm not really going to go into the fight with Setzer. It's just some boring side story anyway. So, here's to the new chapter!

----

VII-The Message from the Clock Tower, and Kairi

----

So he'd won the fight.

Roxas was numb with disbelief, but Setzer was defeated, and now he was champion. This had to be one of the best days of his life, as his friends crowded around him, and the crowd cheered his name. Wait until he got the chance to tell his parents! They'd be so proud, no doubt.

The festivities were over and the lazy sun was sinking back down without ever having rose very far in the first place, but the feeling hadn't worn off. Roxas sat on the edge of the clock tower, admiring his prize, and the others looked at it longingly too. Roxas grinned and grabbed one of the crystals on it, tore it off, and tossed it to Hayner, and did the same with the other three, saving the last blue one for himself.

"Wow! Thanks Roxas!" Pence exclaimed.

"As promised. " He replied, and looked over at Hayner, who smiled back.

"You made it. You're the champ." He said. "Wait till next year though! I'll catch you!" Roxas laughed.

"Sure you will." Olette held her crystal towards the sun, admiring the reflecting she saw in it. The boys followed suit, holding them up to the sun, all four shinning with radiance.

"It's amazing." She said at last.

"Even if we can't be together forever, at least we'll always have these memories." Hayner said.

"You bet! We can never forget, because of moments like these." Pence said.

"Right. One more memory for us to share…" Hayner said.

"Oh, right!" Olette exclaimed, pocketing her crystal in a safe place, "I got us all ice cream- a gift for all of us!"

"All right!" Pence exclaimed. Roxas smiled and went to stand up, but lost his footing without expecting it. He stumbled, flailing back and forth stupidly, until he lost his balance completely and felt his feet leaving the clock tower, and his body now free to fall through the air to the ground below.

----

_"They say that old clock tower is haunted." The lady said to his mom as Roxas held her hand. He looked up to the old train station, and up to the red face of the clock that seemed to grin down at him. _

_"Who really believes that?" His mother replied. _

_Roxas stood at the top of the stairs. It was amazing-there was some kind of giant room up here, filled with books. They were everywhere- messily piled on the shelves and scattered along the floor. As he walked past them, he noticed that they were all very old, and very thick, and written in languages he didn't understand. Then, he turned round the corner and saw her-the ghost of the clock tower._

_"Why else do you think no one wants to go up there? They say a young girl is up there, and that she throws intruders off the top!"_

_"Roxas!! Roxas, where are you?" Roxas blinked, and the girl he had seen was gone. _

_----_

"Now, I expect the essay to be handed in by Monday. I am not accepting lates this time." The teacher reminded them all as they filed out of the classroom. Out in the school yard, students gathered and socialized, getting ready to head home for the weekend, but one student lingered in the classroom,looking blankly out the window. Her red hair brushed her shoulders, and her blue eyes were clouded over in thought.

"Kairi?" The girl started out of her reverie and noticed the teacher looking at her, concerned. "Class is over now, Kairi. You can go."

"Oh." She answered simply. She stood up and gathered her things, putting them away in her bag, but one thought dominated her mind.

'Who is he?' After she had gathered her things, she walked out into the hallway, and made her way to the exit. The evening sun cast a gentle glow on the land, and the ocean breeze brought tropical scents to her senses, but she couldn't fully enjoy this sight with all these troublesome things on her mind. She walked past all the couples gathering, the groups of friends planning, and the rest of the congregation, going past the front gates and making her way for home.

How long had it been? At first, each day was an eternity without end, each as painfully long as the last, but now everything blurred together into a long array of weeks and months of emptiness. Empty waiting, empty longing, and empty thinking had dominated her life. Holidays spent in solitude without her dearest friends, and a visit to an empty grave was all that stood out amongst the gray monotony of this island. Now she could tell why they wanted to leave in the first place.

"Kairi! Wait up!" A voice called. Kairi turned to see another girl running towards her. She had light, wavy brown hair and cheery green eyes. Kairi smiled.

"Hi, Selphie." She greeted her friend. The two began to walk side by side.

"Are you okay? You looked so out of it in class! Did you get in trouble with the teacher?"

"No. Everything is fine. I'm fine, really." She insisted.

"Sure." She rolled her eyes. "So anyway, do you want to go to the island?" She asked. Kairi thought for a moment. "Tidus and Wakka are too caught up with the blitzball team, and Karri already went home, so now I have no one to go with. Please say you'll come! It'll be like old times!"

"Hey Selphie…do you remember the kids I used to hang out with on that island all the time?" Kairi asked suddenly. Selphie blinked.

"What? Oh, you mean Riku and Cedeile, right? Yeah, I remember. I wonder what happened to them…" She said, trailing off nostalgically.

"Riku is far away, but don't worry. I'm sure we'll see him again. And Cedeile…well, she'll be back too. Right now she's somewhere else, but I know she'll come back too."

"I hope so. Everything is so much calmer without Cedeile around, and I miss Riku."

"I remember always being with them on that island. We used to play together all the time."

"Those times were fun. So will you go out there with me?" Kairi gave an apologetic look.

"Not today. Sorry, Selphie."

"But why not?" The other girl asked. Kairi sighed.

"What about the other boy?"

"What other boy?" Selphie asked, confused.

"The one who played with Riku and me. He and Cedeile were best friends. His voice used to be on that island, you know. But now it's gone, and I don't know where it went. I can't remember his face, or his name. I can't help feeling sad." She said, looking out at the island. "So I can't go back. I won't return to the island until I remember everything about him."

"Kairi, are you sure you didn't make this boy up? I mean really, the way Riku and Cedeile used to fight all the time, it's amazing that she'd ever be able to get along with a boy!"

"He's real. I can't deny that. Because whoever he is, he touched me deep within my heart…" She said, staring off into the sky.

_"Namine?" _A voice sounded. Kairi felt a pulsing pain begin to rise up in her head, and brought her hand to it, hoping it would go away.

"Kairi? Are you okay?"

----

'Namine…what's happening to me?' Roxas asked in his head as he began to fall slower. Was something messed up with time again?

_"Who are you? And who's Namine? My name is Kairi." _The girl replied.

'Kairi…I've heard that name somewhere before…' He searched his memories for some clue of why this name was familiar.

_"That's the girl he likes."_ Another voice supplied. _"I've known it since that day…" _The voice belonged to Cedeile.

'That's right! You're the girl he likes-Kairi.' He repeated.

_"Who?"_ Kairi asked. _"Please! A name! If I had a name, I could remember."_

'Well Kairi, I'm Roxas.'

_"She's not the only one who forgot."_ Cedeile said. _"For a moment, I felt the memory of him slip away too, but now I remember. How could I forget? After all, I'm connected to him through our weapons. We're both masters!"_

_"Alright, Roxas. Do you know his name?" _Kairi asked.

'You're not the only one who forgot.' Roxas replied.

_"Someone else knows him too?"_

'Cedeile does.'

_"Cedeile is there?! Is she okay? Where is she? But wait-what's his name, Roxas?"_

_"His name is-"_

_"You don't remember my name?" _A voice whimpered, disappointed._ "Thanks a lot, Kairi! After all that trouble I went through for you!" _Kairi gasped, and Cedeile laughed a little. Suddenly, Roxas saw her, dressed all in red-someone who looked a lot like Arlette, but at the same time was very different. She smiled widely.

_"Typical lovebirds. Hope I never get like that." _She said before fading away.

'Cedeile?' Roxas thought.

_"Wait!"_ Kairi said. _"Please tell me who you are."_

_"Oh, well, I guess I can give you a hint. My name-it starts with an "S"…" _

And Roxas fell, bracing himself for meeting the ground.

"ROXAS!!!!!" Arlette screamed, and that was all he remembered.

----

"Kairi! Kairi! Are you okay?" A voice screamed.

"Do you think we should get some help?" Selphie asked.

"Look Selphie! She's waking up!" Kairi opened her eyes to find herself on the ground with Selphie and another girl looking over her. This new appearance was a girl her age with short indigo colored hair and deep blue eyes. In fact, many people had said to Kairi that the two of them looked remarkably similar.

"Karri?" Kairi mumbled. The girl nodded.

"I was coming back from Cedeile's house when I saw you and Selphie. Are you okay? You really scared us!" Kairi sat upright and then stood up.

"I'm fine, really. Just light-headed for a moment." She insisted.

"No wonder!" Karri exclaimed. "You didn't eat any lunch today! What are we going to do with you? If you don't take care of yourself you could get in a lot of trouble later on!" She scolded. Selphie laughed.

"You two, with the way you act, could really be mistaken for sisters!" She said between giggles. Kairi softly smiled.

"Well, someone's got to keep an eye on her, since she doesn't do it herself!" Karri replied, pouting and crossing her arms.

"So, why were you at Cedeile's house?" Kairi asked.

"Oh, well, sometimes I help Cedeile's mom after school. It's hard not having anyone around, after all, and she could use the extra help." Karri explained.

"That's nice of you." Selphie said.

"Well, I came here after Cedeile and Riku were gone, but with all the stories Kairi told me…hey, wait a minute. Where is Kairi?" They both turned to discover their missing friend running down the road towards the beach. They decided to follow after her.

----

"Kairi! Wait!" Selphie called. The red haired girl stood at the edge of the ocean, looking out to some invisible place they couldn't hope to make out. They two stopped alongside her and watched as she took a bottle out of her bag and set it down in the ocean.

"Kairi…?" Karri inquired.

"What is that?" Selphie asked, bending down to Kairi's level and resting on her heels. Karri mimicked the action as Kairi explained.

"It's a letter I wrote to him." She said. "I told him that wherever he is, I'll find him, and that I'm sure we would meet. It's funny, but when I stopped writing, I remembered that we'd made a promise. Something important…and this letter is where it all starts. I just know it."

"Do you really think he'll get it?" Karri asked, brushing some stray hairs out of her eyes.

"Oh, he will." Kairi replied, standing up and brushing off her knees. Selphie and Karri also rose with her and watched the little bottle get carried further and further away from them, the waves carrying it onward. "Starts with an 'S', huh? Could it possibly be…'Sora?'" She said. She and Selphie turned to go and began walking away.

"Hey wait. Karri?" Selphie called. The third girl remained on the beach, water crawling up to her shoes, as she gazed up towards the third little island out on the water.

'I am coming…'She repeated in her head. 'The man with the red bandages appeared again, but this time outside of my dreams. And he appeared like he did a year ago, when it snowed on the islands…'

"Karri!!!" Kairi yelled. She blinked and turned back to her friends.

"Sorry! I'm coming!!" She ran up the path towards them.

----

"Amazing. His progress is astounding." The man said, seating himself in front of the computer screens. His companion was there too, tossing a blue crystal up into the air and catching it skillfully.

"Well, it's all thanks to Namine, isn't it?" The second one asked, slipping the crystal into the pouch he had held onto from before.

"Yes. She's special; she wasn't born like other nobodies. And she has these amazing powers that let her connect with the hearts of Sora and those aligned with him. Because she had touched Roxas's heart, Roxas was able to come in contact with Kairi."

"Fascinating." The second one replied. "Oh, by the way, I met with him again."

"I told you he wouldn't join us. Didn't he already give you a response?" The sitting one said. The other one shrugged.

"It was worth another try. You know, he's not like other nobodies either."

"I know. He still remained so pure a being even after his pure heart was stolen. That's why he has that weapon." The sitting one looked over at the standing one. "While we're at it, can you tell me your true name?" The standing one pulled back his hood, silver hair falling down his back, and golden eyes looking out at him.

"It's Ansem." He declared. The sitting man looked away, and then laughed.

"It's an honor, 'Ansem.'" He replied, and then stood up. "Well, 'Ansem,' it seems we are going to have a guest soon. I expect you to make her welcome when I bring her." He said.

"But of course." Ansem replied.

----

Roxas found himself in a dark corridor, with only a little sliver of light before him. He approached the light, not really sure of what was going on, and found that the light came from a door that was slightly ajar. He peeked inside-all he could see was the end of some sort of shelf-so he opened to door further and let himself inside.

Lanterns hung from row of book shelves, illuminating the long room and giving it a firefly glow. The place was a mess: cobwebs hung everywhere, books and papers were scattered all on the floor, and a thick coating of dust permanently hung in the air. He cautiously proceeded down a row of shelves, stepping carefully to try to avoid all the debris on the floor. He looked at the bindings of the books as he passed. They all looked remarkably old, and each volume was very thick. Some of them had titles written on the sides, but he couldn't read them. It was if they were in another language.

When he came to the end of the aisle, he was facing a simple wooden table with some chairs around it. Then he saw her-a young girl-like figure, sitting on the table calmly. That was her- the ghost they said lived in the clock tower. She was very transparent, more so than Arlette, and it looked as though all the color had been drained out of her. She wore simple, thick robes, and her long thick wavy hair seemed constantly caught in a breeze, as it blew softly though the air was still. She smiled at him kindly.

"Hello there. What's your name?" She asked. She sounded like a child.

"I'm…Roxas." He got out. "Who are you?"

"I don't have a name! I'm just a guardian, and that's all I've ever been called: Guardian of this forbidden archive." She replied.

"So you're not a ghost?" He asked, surprised.

"Nope. I'm not human at all. I was created by the king!"

"The king?"

"King Arthur. He created me and assigned me to guard this place till the end of time."

"Don't you get lonely? You're here all by yourself, after all."

"I'm fine by myself. I'm serving my king, after all, and I will follow his command forever."

"But your king is dead. It's been five hundred years…"

"Just because he is dead doesn't mean his will doesn't live on. He never wanted anyone to find this place, and use its knowledge for the wrong purpose ever again. He never wanted the disasters that happened back then to repeat themselves, so he had all the mages' books and the historians' accounts locked up in this place, and told the Ryu Clan to guard it when he sent them to their new land."

"The Ryu Clan?! But they're bad guys, right? They killed the other clans!" Roxas exclaimed.

"No, they are good. They made the town you live in. After they built the library for the forbidden archive, they settled here, at this place in the twilight: Twilight Town. But this place, and your town are two different places."

"What do you mean two different places?"

"This place doesn't exist in your Twilight Town, because the one who made your town doesn't know about it! Just like he doesn't know that the Ryu Clan is still here, because both of these are secret." Roxas's head was spinning. How could there be two Twilight Towns and what did all this mean? What did any of it have to do with him? And who was the person who 'made' his town?

"Who made my town? What does that mean?"

"The problem is that the Ryu Clan doesn't know where this place is anymore. They forgot over the years, and they don't know this place exists. It's so sad. But at least I'm here to protect the knowledge! Can you feel it? The books are thinking. They have a heart, sort of like humans, but it was a heart created by humans who took a record of history, geography, magic, astronomy, and science. Their work was poured into these volumes, and it gave them a heart." She gently touched her chest. "I have no heart. I wish I did, though. But all I am is magical energy collected together and compressed into a form." Roxas sighed. It looked like his questions weren't going to be answered, but he had to try anyway.

"How did I get here?" He asked.

"You didn't go anywhere! I came to you! When Arlette passed through to your town, she left a portal open enough for me, and I came to see this place. And now you're here! I'm surprised-I thought only those certain children could enter here. Seika, Silvia, the prince, Arlette, and Hikari Tagami were the only ones connected to this place. But you know what? You look a little like Seika! Just a little bit, not too much. Maybe not really at all, but you remind me of him."

"Why did Arlette leave a portal open?"

"Arlette is special. Her soul is the very essence of the heartblade. It's what can purify the heartless. And Silvia is special too! Her heart is what locks the keyholes of the worlds. Do you know what happens when the final keyhole is locked? Arlette's soul, Silvia's heart, and the body of the keyblade master briefly form one complete trinity and can bring the worlds into the light. It's the most beautiful thing there is in the universe, when that happens."

"So Arlette is protecting me because of that?" Roxas asked. While the girl had been talking, he had pulled out a wooden chair, brushed it off, and sat in it, listening to the guardian ramble.

"She's protecting you because she cares about you, Roxas." She said. Roxas felt his face get warm.

"But why? We only met a few days ago! There's no reason for her to feel anything towards me!"

"No, you met her before. It was a long time ago. Do you know that she's like the angel of nobodies? She leads them to the NEO Zone, but it's not her fault that Organization XIII is being bad. She didn't want that to happen, she just wanted them to be happy."

"Why does she lead nobodies? I thought they were the bad guys? So she helped Axel?!" He didn't even know what nobodies were, when he really thought about it.

"Because when a nobody is born, there is a chance that they can be lost, and if that is true they can never recover themselves. So she brings them to a safe place, the NEO Zone. That's where all nobodies go, and where they wait to recover their hearts. But now Organization XIII is doing bad things, and making the nobodies do evil. But really, all they want to do is be whole again, so they can be free. Arlette wants nobodies to be free, so that's why she leads them there, to that place in-between, the NEO Zone."

"NEO?"

"Non-existing ones. That's what she called them at first, but then they wanted to be called nobodies."

"So when did I meet her? I don't remember." Roxas said. If Arlette was an "angel" of nobodies, and had been wandering around in darkness and all that, then how could she and him have met before now? He had lived in Twilight Town all his life.

"It was when you were born, Roxas." She told him. That must be why he couldn't remember; he had met her as a baby. Perfectly logical from his viewpoint. No one remembered anything from when they were that young. But why would she visit him as a baby? "Arlette tries to help all nobodies, even if she doesn't like some of them, but she loves you the most!" The girl exclaimed with a giggle. Roxas nearly fell out of his chair.

"Love?!" He shouted. The guardian nodded enthusiastically.

"Yes, Roxas! She loves you, but her heart is breaking because of it. Can't you tell? She's trying so hard to reach you, but there is so much preventing her. It's very hard for her to move about in the realm of light, where you are. And Mr. Bandage-head is making it tougher with his barriers to keep nobodies out. He's kind of mean, Mr. Bandage-head. He hates nobodies and wants to destroy them, just because part of their trinity is missing. He doesn't like Arlette either, because she's interfering."

"Who's Mr. Bandage-head? And what is Arlette interfering with?"

"Oh, I don't really know Mr. Bandage-head. I can see what he's doing, because I can see everything in this town, but I don't really know what he's trying to do. But Sora is with him, and Riku is there too. They're looking for Daichi and Gold. Namine is there sometimes."

"You can see all that?"

"Yup. I see Cedeile too. She's sleeping, and everyone is worried about her. I don't know why she won't wake up. She must be very tired from all the fighting she's been doing."

"So what happens now? Did I fall off the clock tower and die?" Roxas asked.

"No. Arlette saved you and brought you here for a bit. But soon, you'll drift into your dreams and wake up at home, safe and sound. That's partially the work of Mr. Bandage-head too."

"I see…" Roxas replied. None of this had really made any sense to him, now that he thought about it. He stood up and pushed his chair back in, though he wasn't sure why. "I guess this is goodbye, then?" He felt that soon, he'd be falling asleep and be leaving this place.

"Thank you for coming to visit me, Roxas. It was nice to meet you. You know, you really do remind me of Seika. But you don't look that much like him at all, now that I notice it. But you are like him. Both of you are so kind and you both care about your friends."

"Who is Seika?" Roxas asked. Then the scenery around him started to warp and dissolve away out of focus. The guardian smiled warmly as darkness enveloped him.

"Seika is…" She began, but he was out before he could hear the last words.

----

He gasped as he sat upright, but realized he was in no danger at all. Roxas looked around his room-everything was normal.

"I'm dreaming…it was just a dream…" He told himself. But then he thought for a moment. A secret library, Axel, nobodies, a magical guardian, Arlette, falling off the clock tower… "But…which parts were the dream?"

----

6H:WHOOT! Original plotline going down! And it freaking ROCKS!!!

Anaretsu: What is your problem?

6H: I can't help it! It's just so awesome!!! It felt great to be able to write that, it really did. It kind of sucks right now, because I do have to follow Roxas's story, but I really want it to be interesting, so that people will enjoy it. And this is also helps make a lot more sense for me, cause now I suddenly feel as if I myself have a complete grip on what's going on.

Anaretsu: So you had no idea what you were writing before? That's reassuring.

6H: Not like that! Oh well…anyway, please leave a review, as we get closer to the end of Roxas. So sad….


	10. VIII:Wonders

6H: And here is the 8th part of Roxas's story. Not much longer now…

Anaretsu: Till what? Death? Massive Annihilation?!

6H: That's the ending. No, we're not quite there yet. Stick with it!!

----

VIII-Wonders

----

"Damn it. Only three days left of summer vacation!" Hayner was saying as Roxas walked into the usual spot. As soon as he entered, he noticed the strong smell of dragon fruit and looked up to the ceiling, to find Arlette sitting on one of the pipes. She smiled and waved at him, and he smiled back, trying to not bring attention to himself. The last thing his friends needed to see was him smiling at thin air.

"You guys!!" Olette cried. "We still have that assignment to do for school!!" Roxas sat down on the crate next to the couch and observed the argument. Olette put her hands on her hips. "You said we would get it done at the beginning of the summer, but we haven't even talked about it a bit since school let out!" She frowned crossly.

"Come on! With only three days left, we have to spend the time we have enjoying the rest of vacation!" Hayner complained. "I don't even want to think about schoolwork until school starts."

"You don't think about schoolwork until the second semester, when you're failing." Pence said, laughing.

"Do you want to make something of it, Pence?" Hayner demanded.

"Hayner!" Olette yelled.

"All right, all right! Independent study…anyone got any ideas for a topic?" Roxas sighed.

"Hey…didn't I fall off the clock tower yesterday?" He asked idly. The three of them looked at him, perplexed.

"You'd be all over the pavement instead of here if you did." Hayner said.

"Yeah. It was a close one, but we grabbed you at the last minute. I guess that's what he get for hanging out up there when we're not supposed to." Pence recalled. "My mom is always furious to find out I've been up there."

"Don't change the subject! We need a topic!" Olette scolded.

"Why don't we do the stuff that's happening to me?" Roxas said. "The guys in white, and my mismatched memories and all."

"Maybe you incurred the wrath of some sort of ghost when we went to the restaurant." Pence said. "I told you that was a bad idea!"

"Well there's no way we're doing that for a topic." Hayner said.

"Why not?" Roxas asked.

"Cause it's stupid. No offense, but what can we say about it? No one's gonna believe us."

"Seifer saw those white creatures. And everyone knows about the stolen photos." Roxas remarked.

"Like Seifer would help us with anything." Hayner mumbled.

"I know! Let's do the seven wonders of Twilight Town!" Pence exclaimed, getting excited.

"The seven what?" Hayner asked skeptically.

"You don't know about the seven wonders, and yet you call yourself a resident of Twilight Town?! Allow me to explain then!" Pence jumped off the box he'd been sitting on and walked before them all, so that he had their attention. "They say around Sunset Terrace, there are seven great mysteries that no one can explain. They include the station steps, which are always changing their number, the ball coming out of the wall, the reflection in the fountain, moving bag on Sunset Hill, and the voices in the underground tunnel!"

"Yeah, I've never heard of these things." Hayner said.

"Me either, quite honestly." Olette added.

"Come on! You guys need to get out more!" Pence complained. "So, what do you think? It'll be a great project! We can go around town and search them out for ourselves!"

"Wait a minute…you said there were seven wonders." Roxas said. "You only mentioned five."

"Well, the other two are the greatest ones yet!" Pence told him.

"He doesn't know what they are either." Hayner said.

"I do too!" Pence yelled. "So…?"

"Since no one else is coming up with anything, I guess that's our topic." Olette said with a sigh.

"Awesome! Okay, let's go get some info on rumors in town! Then we'll meet at the station and decide what to do from there!" Pence said.

"I'll go with Pence." Roxas said, following him out.

"That leaves us, Olette." Hayner said with a grin. Olette just sighed in exasperation.

----

"Pence, where are we going?" Roxas asked as his friend ran up Station Heights. "At least wait for me!"

"He's excited, isn't he?" Arlette commented.

"I've never seen him so worked up over anything, except maybe the time he won that award for photography at school." Roxas replied. Then he remembered his 'dream' last night and what the guardian girl had said.

_"..but she loves you the most!"_

He blushed upon remembering those words and looked at Arlette from the corner of his eye. She was looking more solid every time he saw her, and now she could touch him without passing through. He had to admit that she was kind of pretty, with her dark brown hair that was shining in the sun, and her deep green eyes. That familiar smell of dragon fruit that hung about her brought with it reassurance and comfort, which he found he needed in this time of uncertainty.

"Roxas! Hurry up!" Pence yelled. Suddenly, Arlette was nowhere to be seen either. He sighed and ran to catch up to his friend. The two of them walked into the station. "The town line should still be free." He said.

"I thought we were meeting Hayner and Olette here." Roxas said.

"We're going to go to the terrace first and get all the information we need there. Then I can rub it in his face later that we finished first." Pence explained with a crafty look.

"I didn't know we were competing." The blonde mumbled. They got up on the train platform and found a train was just pulling in.

"And so, our quest for the seven wonders begins!!" Pence exclaimed.

'Yeah, he's way to excited for this.' Roxas thought.

"Hey! Think you could sneak off without us?" Hayner's voice boomed as he and Olette climbed up the station stairs to the platform.

"Who, me? No…must've been Roxas's idea." Pence replied sheepishly.

"It was not!" Roxas exclaimed.

"So, you guys find good rumors already?" Pence asked, changing the subject quickly.

"Nothing really." Olette replied. "Nothing more than what you told us."

"Yeah, but we're not gonna let you guys out do us! We're going to the terrace with you!" Hayner exclaimed.

"It's not like this is race! It's schoolwork!" Olette scolded him.

"That doesn't mean we can't make some sport out of it."

"Relax guys. We can all go together. It'll save us time." Roxas said. They all made their way to the train and hopped on. The car was empty, so they took the liberty of spreading out. The train began to pull out of the station, the brakes squeaking as they released and the gentle clicking of the tracks getting quicker as they pulled out into the sunshine and sped off towards Sunset Terrace. They were silent for the ride, looking out windows or the floor. Then, Olette took her yellow crystal from the trophy out of her pocket and began to hold it up to the light. Hayner and Pence did the same, and Roxas smiled, going into his pocket to look for his own, but found it wasn't there. He checked his other pocket, but there was no luck. He sighed. He couldn't remember where he put it, and that made him feel eerily depressed, like not having it would make his friends not remember him some day.

----

The train came to a stop at Sunset Station, and the doors slid open. Hayner jumped out of his seat and ran onto the platform and down the stairs.

"Come on, Olette! We've got to get a good head start!!" He exclaimed.

"Hold on, Hayner!!" She yelled. "We'll meet up later, okay?" She told the other guys, and proceeded after him. Roxas and Pence began to walk down the stairs of the station.

"Are these the changing stairs you were talking about?"Roxas asked.

"Yeah. They're supposed to be different going up and down, but…" Pence trailed off, and he seemed embarrassed.

"What is it?" Roxas asked.

"Well, I'm not really sure this is a wonder at all. It's really stupid but…"

"Oh god, what is it?"

"It was the other day when I was over here picking up some books for my mom, when I saw Rai counting. He was like 'every time I count it's different, ya know?!' It was really funny." And he began to laugh.

"So…you mean to tell me, that he just counted wrong. That the stairs don't change?" Roxas asked.

"Pretty much." Pence replied. "But don't worry!! You won't be disappointed by the other wonders!!" He assured his friend when he saw the skepticism and doubt. "Come on! You'll love the others! Trust me!" And he led him into the town.

Sunset Terrace was kind of like the rich part of town. The shops were so dainty and orderly. There were fancy lampposts on each corner, and even a little river ran through. It was smaller, and quieter than the center of town. Roxas liked it here, but didn't come very often. There was just something about this place that made you feel uncomfortable if you weren't from it.

"So, what wonder do you want to check out? I'm going to look for the ball that comes out of the wall!" Pence explained.

"I guess I'll go look for the reflecting fountain." Roxas answered half-heartedly. He really wasn't too interested in this assignment, but he might as well do it anyway. His grade depended on it, and Olette would probably kill him if he didn't do it.

"Great! Meet you outside the tunnel when I'm done!" Pence waved and ran off. Roxas walked towards where to fountain was supposed to be. He went down the cozy little street and found himself in front of the entrance to the underground tunnel.

'Didn't Pence say that this was one of the wonders?' Roxas thought. He might as well check here too. It couldn't hurt, after all.

The tunnels had been closed a long time recently, he remembered, for extensive repairs. He and his parents used to take them a lot when it was raining or they wanted to go to the terrace without taking the train. As parents do, they made it a firm rule that Roxas wasn't allowed to play in them with his friends, but he had ignored that rule several times anyway. It was a little dark in the entrance way-they were probably fixing the lighting, but soon his eye adjusted to the dim glow inside. Then he heard it-an echoing that was coming from somewhere nearby. He followed the noises until he saw Vivi with a struggle bat, standing by himself in a side corridor.

"Oh, hey Vivi. What's up? Why are you here by yourself?"

"I'm not here by myself." Vivi answered, sounding a little different than normal. Roxas had to do a double take because where there had been one Vivi, there now stood three, and they were coming at him with struggle bats. Luckily, the keyblade decided to appear in his hand again, and though he was thoroughly perplexed, he charged forward anyway. He hit one with the keyblade and sent it flying into the air, where it disappeared with a little pop. However, two more seemed to appear in his place. Roxas kept repeating this method over and over again, but it just seemed like more and more Vivis were appearing and trying to attack him.

"Hey Roxas, what are you doing?" A small voice asked. Roxas turned around, and found Vivi looking at him with a weird look. Roxas looked around. All the others were gone.

"I…I was…" He noticed the keyblade was gone as well. He stood up normally and rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Nothing. What're you doing?"

"I'm training!" Vivi proudly exclaimed. "I'm going to be as strong as Seifer and Rai someday, and then I shall beat you in the Struggle!!"

"Yeah…well, see you later, Vivi." Roxas said, walking away quickly.

"Hey wait, Roxas! Don't you want to spar with me?" Vivi asked, but the blonde ignored him. "Oh well. I can practice by myself then."

----

Roxas walked back out into the daylight and then down the road, trying to distance himself from the tunnel. He just had to admit it.

"I'm going crazy." He said to no one. "No sense denying it any longer. I'm just plain damn crazy. I'm going to be sent to an asylum and I'm going to die there." He crossed the tram tracks and found a bench, which he sat down on, and put his head in his hands. "I'm crazy."

"No you're not, Roxas." Arlette's voice suddenly sounded. He jumped up and found her sitting on the bench next to him. "Something wrong?" She asked.

"Well…no, not really." Roxas responded, sitting back down again. "I think I'm going to just kill myself if all this doesn't stop."

"Don't say that. That's awful, Roxas! You're not going crazy. The nobodies are just messing with you." She said, trying to comfort him.

"Who are the nobodies, Arlette?! And why are you their angel?" He shouted, the tension getting to him at last. Suddenly, she wore a dark expression.

"Who told you that?" She asked quietly, yet darkly.

"The guardian of the forbidden archive did." He explained. "She explained about what you did and something about this town and another Twilight Town…it didn't really make sense." Arlette still wore the same expression on her face. "What is it? What's the matter?"

"Roxas, I…"

"Oh wait! I'm supposed to be trying to find that fountain!" He stood up. "Come with me." He requested. She sighed and then stood up too.

"All right. What's this for, now?" She asked as they began to walk.

"A school project for the summer. The four of us signed up to be in a group before school let out for summer, but we put it off so we have to finish it before Olette has a heart attack." He said, walking down the street. Arlette sighed and began to follow.

----

Their walk led them to a small little courtyard that over looked the green waters below. In the wall, there was a white fountain, with water running down into a small pool. Purple flowers were in full bloom for the last time that summer.

"So, this is that wonder; the reflecting fountain." Roxas said. He looked into it, reaching a hand out towards it. "It really looks like there's another me in this fountain."

"Roxas," Arlette said suddenly.

"What is it? Is something wrong?" He asked. She had been acting strangely since he asked her about the whole nobody thing. Was that something he wasn't supposed to know?

"Whatever you were told by that guardian…you'd best forget it. It's not important." She said, facing away from him.

"But why? It seems important to me!" He shouted. Then he remembered that no one could see Arlette, so he turned. A woman with a bag of groceries had stopped, and was giving him a strange look, but then she quickly went on her way. Great; complete strangers were now going to think he was crazy. He turned back to Arlette. "Why?" He asked, softer.

"Please don't ask me that, Roxas." She said. "Just forget it." Roxas was frustrated now. Someone had started to shed light on his situation, and now Arlette was covering it up? He wanted to shout out her: "So, what about the part about you being in love with me? Should I forget that too?", but he couldn't. He didn't want to fight with her too.

There was no time to ponder this any longer, because he noticed his reflection in the fountain was moving on its own, and moving right towards him. He and Arlette stepped back and watched as the second Roxas materialized in front of them. He looked exactly the same, but his colors seemed darker, like a screen was wrapped around him. He smirked, a struggle bat slung over his shoulder. Roxas clenched his teeth. Was this shadow Roxas looking for a fight? He was about to step forward, but Arlette was ahead of him, and she summoned the heartblade to her hand.

"Let me take care of this Roxas. It was sent by nobodies." She said, and she seemed very angry, like when she tried to fight that old man in red from yesterday. He did as she said, and the two squared off against each other. "You'll be easy to kill." She hissed at Shadow Roxas, but he just smirked back.

He stepped forward, swing the club into her, but she stepped back, just dodging it, and then stepped forward again and swung the heartblade into him. The light sent him flying to the ground, and she came at him again, slashing downward towards him, but he stopped her with the club he wielded. Shoving the heartblade out of the way, he kneed her in the stomach, knocking the wind out of her, (Roxas was surprised that this could happen to her, because didn't really need the air), and then took the opportunity to strike her several times, beating her relentlessly with the club. She took it all silently, not even inhaling sharply or wincing, until she saw an opening under his raised arm.

She took the heartblade and swung at him while he was coming down for another attack. The light cut through him and sent him staggering back. Arlette swung into him again, and then brought the heartblade back the other way for a double strike, which was very affective. He brought himself upright again and took a defensive stance, looking for an opening on her, but she struck again, this time hitting him in the side of the head with her weapon. He fell to the side, limp on the ground for a few moments. She waited for him to stand again, and attacked once more.

Roxas watched the fight in awe. Arlette must really know what she was doing, considering that she fought so well. It briefly reminded him of something, but he wasn't sure what. Maybe some memories he had of how Sora and Cedeile fought. Then again, he seemed to be able to recall a stormy night and a tall building reaching up into the darkness.

The shadow clone suddenly collapsed to the ground and disappeared, Arlette standing over him wordlessly. Roxas dared to approach her, but Pence's voice reached his ears.

"Hey, Roxas, did you find anything?" Roxas didn't even blink and she was gone, along with the scent that accompanied her. He sighed, and looked over to his friend.

"Pence, these wonders…really suck." He said when Pence reached him. Olette and Hayner appeared as well, joining the two boys.

"Tell me you guys found something." Pence said with hope. Hayner shook his head.

"All bogus. These seven wonders are more like seven badly constructed rumors." He replied.

"Pence, you said there were seven wonders, right? Well, we've only investigated five…" Olette said, counting on her fingers.

"That's right! Wonder number 6 will not disappoint!!" He exclaimed. "The ghost train that comes in from the beach!!"

"Ghost train? I've never heard of such a thing." Hayner replied.

"They say that the train is empty: no passengers, no conductor…" Pence described, letting his voice get all dramatic, "NO RETURN!" Seriously, this kid should've joined drama club a long time ago, instead of using his pent up energy on them.

"So, where can we find this ghost train?" Roxas asked.

"We can see it from Sunset Hill!" Pence said. "Race you guys!" And he ran off. Olette and Hayner started after him. Roxas, however, looked back one more time, to see if Arlette was still there, but she was long gone, and he was the only one standing in the garden.

----

6H: Ending it here!

Anaretsu: Why?

6H:Because I want to. More of a filler chapter. Once again, I didn't feel like doing ALL seven of those damn wonder things. I picked my two favorites, the tunnel and the fountain, and then I'll do the important ones; the train and the mansion. Ugh, this is tough to slog through.

Anaretsu: It's your fault. You wanted to make a long Roxas part.

6H: Cause I thought I'd make it good, but this isn't good at all. It's so boring to read through, I bet. That's why no one is leaving any reviews!

Anaretsu: Oh…well, that sucks for you, doesn't it?

6H: For the love of Magellan's voyage, leave a review!!!!!


	11. IX:You don't exist

6H: (rips up plans and stories) ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anaretsu: Huh-what? What the hell is up with you?

6H: NO ONE IS REVIEWING!!!! You know what this means? I am a failure as an author!!!!

Anaretsu: But we knew that already. (Pats on the head)

6H: (headdesk) ARGH!!!!!!!!!!

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XI- You don't exist

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They were waiting on top of sunset hill, one of the more famous spots in Twilight Town. There were various stories about this hill, basically all saying that if you and a significant other watched the sunset from this vantage point, blah…. It wasn't Roxas's cup of tea. He never paid attention to things like that. But this was a great overlook of the train tracks, so if the ghost train did come, they'd be sure to see it. At first, it was easy to watch and wait, all of them sitting in silence and watching those tracks, as if something really amazing would happen. But nothing came. After awhile, all of them were starting to give up hope.

"So this one's a bogus one too, huh Pence?" Hayner asked lazily, blowing a piece of grass off his face.

"It's got to come eventually." Roxas said, leaning over the fence. For some reason, he really wanted that train to come. It might answer some of his questions. But that kind of thinking didn't make any sense to him. Then again, none of these wonders really did make any sense at all.

"I think we should just head home. It's nearly dinner time, and my mom will kill me if I'm late again." Pence whined.

"Just a little longer," Roxas said under his breath. "Please, come…"

"You could always head for home, Pence. The rest of us will stay here." Olette offered, trying to makes things better. It was clear that this project was crashing and burning before their eyes.

"Are you sure that's okay?" Pence asked.

"It's fine. We'll watch for the train." Olette assured him.

"Thanks a lot, Olette!" He said. He jumped up and started to jog off, but a figure coming up the hill stopped him.

"Hey, slackers!" Seifer called. The other three looked over at him, not pleased to see he had come.

"What do you want, Seifer?" Hayner asked, annoyed.

"Nothing. Just checking to make sure you're not f---ing up or anything." He said.

"Must you use that word?" Olette chided. "It's not really necessary." Seifer just ignored her complaint and focused in on Roxas.

"What?" Roxas asked, feeling uncomfortable under the older teen's tough gaze.

"How come looking at you always pisses me off?" Seifer asked.

"I don't know. Maybe…"Roxas thought for a moment. "Maybe it's just destiny. Something we can't help." Seifer thought over this for a moment, and then began to laugh.

"Destiny, huh? Perhaps…I hear sometimes that destiny likes to screw with people a lot." He replied. "Well then, let's just be friends."

"Huh?" The four of them all said at once.

"I don't feel like bowing down and becoming a pawn of destiny." Seifer explained. "I don't feel like cooperating with what some higher power has in store for me."

"You've never cooperated with anything in your life." Hayner retorted.

"I make my own path." Seifer said, turning his back to them and walking back down the hill. The four watched him go in silence, and then Pence turned around and looked back at them.

"Okay, now that…was seriously weird." He said.

"Yeah. Are you sure that was Seifer?" Olette asked. Suddenly, a noise reached Roxas's ears. He turned back and looked down at the track. There it was! Coming down from the track, which turned out of town and went to parts unknown, was a purple train car, with many ornate decorations all over it. He got a glimpse inside the windows; there was no one inside.

"There it is guys!" He exclaimed. He leaned as far over the fence as would prevent him from falling to a horrible death, and watched as the train came towards him, growing in size, and then disappearing in the tunnel under the hill. He turned back to them, a big smile on his face. "Did you see it? There really IS no one inside!!!" He exclaimed, as if he just got the best present ever.

"What?" Hayner asked, a confused look on his face.

"Let's go to the station!! Maybe we can catch it!!" Roxas began to run down the hill, his heart racing. If he got on that train, and took it, he might find what he was looking for.

----

Another day was ending, and night was starting to fall on the town. The red beams of light shone with an intensity through the window near the ceiling, letting in some of the outside world before it faded away again. The fires burned with a soft crackle and remained the only sound in this place, and the only good source of light. The weak sunbeams coming in from above could not possibly have penetrated the darkness themselves.

The guardian of the forbidden archive sat on the ancient wood table, playing with her misty hair and rocking back and forth as she did. The sound of approaching footsteps intruding on the silence did not disturb her at all, even when they stopped to the side of her. The person did not come any closer than the edges of the aisle, preferring to wait in the shadows of a poorly lit row. She did not cease her playing, even though she was perfectly aware of the new guest.

"You told him a lot." The person said.

"I wanted to tell him so much more, though!" She replied with a smile. She turned to look at her company. "Won't you come closer?" She gestured to a chair. "I don't mind. Please, come sit with me."

"I'd rather not." The person answered. "Sorry, but I'm in kind of a rush. They found me again."

"They're bothersome! Why don't you just not go back there ever again?"

"You know I can't survive on this side for too long. Not until I become whole can I break through the door again."

"And now even Mr. Bandage-head is after you." She said sadly.

"Oh, I'm not worried about him too much. He doesn't have a clue where to find me when I disappear. Neither does Riku, so don't you worry." He reassured her.

"You won't tell Mr. Bandage-head and Riku what I did, will you? I did it because he needs to know! When he arrived here, I knew that he was searching for knowledge, deep within his heart."

"I know. Don't worry; I think you did a good thing. I was just surprised."

"Are you leaving me now?" She asked sadly. Suddenly, the bells chimed out with a loud clanging. The archive shook a little, dust floating down from the rafters. Birds flew away in a panic outside, and the last bit of sunshine was slipping down and out of the span of the windows.

And once again, she was alone.

----

Roxas ran up the station steps just as the mysterious train car was pulling in. It stopped with a loud creak of the breaks, and the doors slowly slid open, inviting him to dare to take a step inside. Roxas stepped onto the platform and just stared at the car. He was so elated, he couldn't even describe it.

"Roxas, wait!" Hayner was yelling from behind. Roxas turned as his friends arrived, and pointed to the car behind him.

"It's real, you guys. Come on, let's get on and see where it goes." There was no reply except nervous glances to the ground. He turned and stepped towards it, but someone grabbed his arm.

"Wait," Hayner said.

"What? Why are you stopping me?" Roxas questioned, frustrated. They had finally found one of the wonders that was for real, and he was backing out now?

"It's just that…you'll get hurt…" Hayner replied quietly. Roxas turned back to where the car had been and found it was gone. The announcer came on the intercom to announce the arrival of the train. Roxas was aghast.

"But…it was right here!" He said.

"Come on. Let's go home." Hayner said, pushing Roxas into the train.

----

When they arrived back on the other side of town, they were all feeling pretty low. Their project was a failure-what were they to write about now? Roxas was still absorbed in his own thoughts about the mysterious train car. Had he been the only one to see it? How did this connect to everything else that had been going on? Not to mention it was also perturbing that the scent of dragon fruit was completely gone from the air. He thought something might've happened to Arlette.

"So now what do we do?" Pence asked.

"The wonders were all fake-the end! It's simple as that." Hayner replied, a little edgy with his tone.

"It's okay. We did put a lot of effort into this, and that's what counts. We did actually do some research, and it's a research assignment. We'll probably get credit for it." Olette remarked, trying to cheer everyone up.

"But that's still only six wonders, Pence." Roxas said quietly, after recounting each one.

"Enough with these damn wonders! I'm sick of it!" Hayner yelled. "This whole thing…it was all a waste of time!"

"Hayner, stop being so…." Olette chided.

"I'm going home. See you guys tomorrow." He turned and started walking home.

"Hayner, get back here!" Olette yelled. "I'd better chase after him." She said goodbye to her two friends and ran off after the hot-headed blonde. Roxas and Pence looked at each other.

"So? About that seventh wonder…?" Roxas asked, trying not to sound too desperate. Pence sighed.

"It's the mansion at the edge of town." He replied. "I don't really know if there's anything there. I doubt it, seeing how our luck is going." But Roxas was already off, heading towards the mysterious mansion.

----

The mansion…there was always something odd about it. He remembered them always coming up here to see if they could get inside, but of course the gate was locked. No one knew how old the mansion was or how long it had been here. Some say that it had been there since the town itself was created. But no one could find out who had lived there or for what purpose the mansion existed. People made up stories, sure, but no one really knew. But Roxas had always felt, since as long as he could remember that there was something more than a tragic love story or some ghost myth behind the house-and now he got the strange feeling that it was all connected to him.

He stood outside the perpetually locked gates, the only barrier between himself and the answers he needed, and gazed up at one of the windows, which seemed to have a white room behind it. He sighed-of course he couldn't get close enough to see. But then he had to take a second glance. There seemed to be a figure in the window…a familiar figure.

"Namine…" He muttered under his breath. Suddenly, he felt like he was being pulled forward rapidly into that white room. The world spun around him as he tried to gain control of his movements, and found himself within the white room he had suspected to be beyond the window just a moment ago. He looked around to find papers scattered all over the place-not just papers…there were drawings on them. He looked at all of them as he walked around the room.

Though the drawings were rushed and crude, he could easily tell what they were supposed to be-they were of Sora's memories. Though some were very quick scribbles of events that had happened, others were very high detailed and realistic pictures of people he knew-his mother, his father, even one of Riku…

Roxas was stunned. It was all a lot to take in, because most of these memories he had seen in his dreams lately. He reached out to touch a scene in which Sora and Cedeile were meeting up in Traverse Town, when a voice stopped him.

"Hi, Roxas," He turned around to see Namine sitting at the far end of a long, white table.

"Namine…" He replied, and sat down across from her.

"I'm glad you came to see me." She said with a touch of melancholy in her voice. "I thought I wouldn't get the chance to see you again, so I'm glad you're here."

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"Do you see all the pictures around you?" She asked. He nodded.

"Did you draw those?"

"Yes, I did." She replied. He smiled.

"They're really very good, Namine. I like them a lot." He complimented. She blushed, and then looked down to the table, where her sketchbook lay opened to an unfinished sketch of a red haired girl.

"No, they're a curse. A curse of memories…You see, I'm a witch, with the power over memories."

"Why a witch?" He asked, thinking that witches only existed in fairy tales.

"Well, that's what DiZ called me. A while back, I was under the control of some bad people, and they made me do something awful. Luckily, I'm able to fix it now, but it's taken a lot of time. I've had to reconstruct all of Sora's memories from the beginning to right now. It's taken almost a year, but I'm almost at the end. What no one realized, though, was how it would affect you."

"You mean…the dreams, right?"

"That's right. And your own memories coming back."

"My memories of what?"

"The memories of your true self and the life you had before now. You see, there's something you don't know about yourself, something that will come into play very soon."

"What are you talking about?" He asked with a slight smile. "No one knows me better than me." Namine sighed sadly.

"Roxas, forgive me for sounding cruel, but I really don't get to talk to people much. You see, you were-"

"Enough, Namine," A fierce angry voice called out from behind Roxas's chair. Roxas turned to discover a very angry looking Arlette standing in the corner, holding one of the drawings in her hand. She completely looked past Roxas, fury building up in her deep green eyes, as she stared the blonde girl down. "Don't go any further." Her fingers began to clench into her palms, crumpling the edges as her hands shook with suppressed rage.

"Arlette, you know this has to come sooner or later. We can't ignore this any longer." Namine replied calmly. Arlette shook her head.

"Don't even dare, Namine! All of you want Roxas to submit to his plans, just like you wanted to do with _him_!" She ripped the paper she was holding in half and let the pieces fall to the floor. Namine didn't even so much as flinch. The ghost began to walk towards her slowly, her voice rising in volume with each syllable. "They're all your experiments, aren't they?! They're just yours to toy around with, to see how far you can push them to the edge, to see what makes them tick. Doesn't he understand yet?! This is what happened the first time seven years ago, and it's only going to keep getting worse until everything is pulled into the land of death!" She slammed her fist down on the table and Roxas jumped at the resounding thud that resulted. Namine hardened her face against the other girl's rage and looked up at her with a blank face. "You're one of them too, you know. How can you do this to those who are just like you?"

"Are you angry because you feel like you have to protect all of them?" She asked. "Oh, Arlette…the pain you must feel the way things are now. I'm so sorry…"

"Don't even…! You have no idea, Namine!" Arlette shouted back. "You aren't alive like I was once. And you don't understand how the dead wish to be with the living. We're all so powerless…" Arlette clasped her hands over her eyes and shook her head slowly back and forth, and Roxas assumed she was crying.

"I know. I can't feel quite what you can, Arlette. But don't you think Roxas has the right to know? You wish for him to be free, but you're keeping him within a cage of ignorance by keeping secrets." Namine soothed.

"But what if he returns to how he was?" Arlette sobbed. "If he knows, then DiZ will have that much more power over him."

"No, he won't."

"I wanted to save just one." She cut in before Namine could continue. "Just once, I wanted to bring one back, and I wanted that one to be Roxas. I wanted one of them to not have to be caught up in that hopeless struggle that the one started. He can feel, Namine…Roxas can feel, and it's a real kind of feeling. It's so much like the pure one I brought back…but it's different because this is a more normal case, you know?" She took her hands away from her face, a melancholy smile framed by two streams of tears. "And Cedeile's dormant feelings are coming through for him because of Sora. But I also want to protect him."

"I understand." Namine replied.

"What is it?" Roxas finally asked, frozen in his chair. The two girls looked at him, as if they had forgotten he was there. "What do you need to tell me?"

"You…were never really supposed to exist." Namine said. Roxas gasped as Arlette turned away, crying silently a bit more.

"How could you say something like that?" Roxas asked, jumping up out of his chair. "Even if that was true…"

"I'm afraid, after being locked up for so long, I'm not very good with people." Namine explained apologetically. Roxas looked to Arlette's turned back.

"Did you know?" He asked her, aghast. She half turned back.

"Yes. I knew…I didn't want you to know because I was so sure you could live as a whole…"

"A whole what?" He demanded.

"A whole person." Namine filled in. He looked back to the other girl. "I'm like you Roxas-I'm what they call a 'Nobody.' Beings like us are those who have lost our hearts, but retain our souls and bodies."

"What's going to happen to me?" Roxas asked, depression and shock setting in on him.

"You'll be fine!" Arlette exclaimed. "I promise you, Roxas, you'll be able to live how you want to!!" She approached him carefully. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you…but I couldn't bring myself to. See how weak I am?" She opened her arms. "Look at me-I died because of my own stupidity, and now I'm trying to make a difference. I try to guide nobodies to the NEO Zone so that they can find themselves, and they end up trying to take back their hearts by force, causing all this mess. I had one selfish wish, though, even though I didn't deserve it-I wished that you would escape and live freely."

"Arlette…" Roxas remarked dumbly.

"I'm a stupid, stupid person." She added. "There is nothing I can do." Before Roxas could respond, a portal appeared behind Namine. She gasped and turned around as a hooded figure stepped out.

"Hold your peace, Namine!" The figure commanded. "You're going to send everything all helter skelter if you keep messing around like this!"

"He needs to know!" She replied back. "Why can't we let him know?"

"No, Namine!" Roxas called out. Arlette suddenly came next to him and grabbed onto him arm. He felt the room starting to slip away from them as Arlette stared down the hooded man.

"Roxas, you won't disappear!" Namine exclaimed. "Now that I've met you, I know that!"

"I'll disappear?" He questioned back, unable to make out what she said.

"No, you won't disappear!! I think we'll meet again, but as two different people! I really think that-"

"Enough!" The hooded man said, and he dragged her back into the portal.

"No! Namine!!" Roxas called as Arlette whisked them away into the darkness.

----

_It was dark all around, and the space was vast and empty. A translucent figure began to move through the darkness and stopped before a slouched over figure. The figure turned out to be a young boy with spiky blonde hair and empty blue eyes. The figure put a hand on her hip and gave the figure a gentle smile. _

_"Hi there." She said kindly. The boy looked up at her. "My name is Arlette, and I'm here to bring you to a safe place. Do you know what your name is?" She asked. The boy took awhile to respond._

_"Sora…" He finally recalled at last. "My name is Sora." She seemed surprised by his answer at first, but then shook it off and extended a hand out to him. _

_"That's a nice name, Sora. Come on, I'll take you to your new home." She said. He reluctantly and limply took her hand, and she helped him up and began to take him along with her. He looked around as if he was mildly interested in the darkness. _

_"Do you remember anything about your other life?" She asked as they went along. The boy didn't respond as his glazed over eyes took in the surrounding darkness. "That's okay. I'm sure the memories will come back to you soon. No one really remembers what happened to them on the other side to get them over here. But don't worry; I'm sure you'll be whole again soon." Suddenly, big shapes began to form in the darkness, and soon it wasn't darkness anymore, but a rainy city at night, with lots of tall buildings and creatures roaming about the streets._

_He looked at all of this blankly. His guide turned back to him and smiled. _

_"Well here you are-you'll know where to go from here. Welcome to the NEO Zone." She said. She let go of his hand and turned to go. _

_"My name…" He began to speak again. She stopped, but didn't turn back to look at him. "My name is Roxas." He said, and he walked into the city, making his way towards his new life. Arlette smiled knowingly to herself before disappearing off into the darkness._

_"That's a nice name."_

_----_

Roxas awoke from the feverish nightmare and felt a heavy weight on his chest. He blinked rapidly a few times and took a few deep breaths. Was that a memory or just a dream? He realized that he was back in his room and laying sprawled out on his bed, even though it was the middle of the day. He looked down and saw the source of the weight on his chest- Arlette's arm was draped across his chest as she lay next to him, sobbing into his bed sheets. She glanced up at him with the most pathetic and sorrowful look on her face that he felt a part of his heart break. But then he remembered he didn't have one.

"Arlette, I…"

"Please," She said softly, "just let me stay here for a little bit." He looked at her, shocked, and felt a blush rise up in his face. She was so close to him, and he found that he liked it, as much as it also terrified him. "I want to protect you, Roxas." She said. "I'm sorry." Roxas hesitantly brought his hand to rest on her back.

"Its okay, Arlette." He replied. She rested her cheek against his side and stared ahead with determined intent. Roxas found himself looking back up at the ceiling as he gripped the material of her sweater tighter.

What was that supposed to mean- that he didn't exist? How was he supposed to deal with that? Was he not real-was everything for nothing? What about his friends? Would they remember him?

'But I feel real now.' He thought as he practically glared a hole through the ceiling. The scent of dragon fruit was strong, so much so that he felt it lulling him off to sleep. 'I feel real. I want to always feel this way…'

_"…She loves you the most…!"_

'I don't care. Just let me feel real.'

----

6H: End of this chapter! It turned out pretty good, I have to say. I was worried about the last scene, but I think it turned out okay. Sorry for the long delay, but I've mostly been working on my original stuff over at fictionpress, so please drop me a line there. Next chapter is the final Roxas chapter, so enjoy.


	12. X:Roxas

6H: This is the final Roxas chapter before we get back to Cedeile and the gang! Finally, everything will come together!! Well…some things, maybe…

Anaretsu: You always say that, and then NOTHING happens!

6H: Quiet! Read the chapter!

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X-Roxas

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The room was dark and dank in the fading light. The table in the center of the room was long broken in half, with the small, collapsed candelabra from the ceiling laying in a broken mess on top of it. The scarlet wallpaper was peeling off the walls, revealing mold and mildew climbing up the rotting wood underneath. The carpet was rotting away as well, showing decrepit floorboards underneath. The china in the broken glass and gold cabinets was either long gone or broken and covered with sheets of dust. A tarnished painting of some scenery hung on one of the walls, but the paints had yellowed and faded so much it was hard to tell what it was.

Ansem surveyed all this as he walked in, his hood back over his head. It was a shame to see this place in its condition. He wondered what the room had been like back in its prime. The only usable things in the room were two semi-elegant chairs facing across from each other. The one nearest him was empty, but the farther one was occupied, by DiZ.

"So, why did you show him the train?" Ansem demanded, somewhat angry. He hadn't been told about this before. DiZ shrugged it off like it was nothing.

"I felt bad that he missed his trip to the beach." The red enigma replied coldly.

"How…almost kind of you…" Ansem sneered.

"Yes, well…how are you? Did you feel your memory starting to fill in the empty spots?"

"Yes, just like magic." Ansem replied with some edge to his tone. He was still not pleased about how things were going now. "Is that because of Namine?"

"Everyone else who knew Sora will be starting to have the same effects. Now, Sora will just be someone who went away for a year, who they're now looking forward to seeing again." DiZ replied, blatantly ignoring his question. Ansem turned and took a seat in the other chair, and then turned his attention back to DiZ. He surveyed the older man cloaked in red, with his face covered by red bandages, only revealing one eye and his mouth. It was now that he realized how little he actually knew about the man. He didn't know what he would do after Sora woke up, and that result was the only thing that the two men had in common. After that happened, and there was nothing left to strive for, what would become of them? Would DiZ possibly go against him and do something unexpected?

"What do you want?" Ansem asked, half thinking aloud.

"It's simple. Revenge." DiZ replied with a sneer. Ansem gripped his hands into fists. He'd had a lot of experience with revenge, and he knew that it always went sour. Whatever DiZ was planning, it was probably no good.

"Revenge…is that all?" He asked quietly, almost to himself. If DiZ had heard him, he chose to ignore it.

"Now, the last little touches…" DiZ began after a misplaced pause. "We need to get rid of Namine. She did a fine job with Sora, but now she will only get in the way. With the way she is, she'll only be a hindrance, just like Roxas." He leaned forward in his seat. "Take care of it, Ansem." Ansem stood up from his chair.

"Gladly." He responded, and left the room in unease. Only when he shut the doors behind him did he dare to let his thoughts wander. Why now did DiZ want to get rid of Namine? He sounded as if he wanted the girl dead, even though she had done all of this good for them. Even though she had tampered with Roxas a little bit, it wasn't enough to cause any significant damage. Ansem now began to wonder about DiZ's true intentions. All he had known from the start was that they were trying to awaken Sora again, and that Roxas was an essential part of this, but there was little else he had said. There was also that other "female guest" he was to be expecting, but DiZ had said little else of her since then, so he wondered if that was still happening or not. A room had been prepared-a moth ball infested, dust covered room, but a room none the less, as if she would be coming any day now. And who would he be bringing to the mansion anyway? Could it be Kairi? Certainly not-not with Namine here. Then he thought back to his orders. He was to "get rid" of her. Was DiZ crazy? She had been the one to fix Sora! How could he so easily turn on her for no reason? A startling thought entered his mind. Would he be next out of the way?

'No, he couldn't…he wouldn't dare…' Ansem thought as he approached the room behind which Namine dwelled. He opened the door with a little creak and entered silently.

There she was, sitting in her chair, and leaning on the table, feverishly scribbling the last memories down. There were even more drawings scattered about than last time, and he couldn't help but notice one ripped in two on the floor. He picked it up and saw what was there- Roxas and Sora extending their hands out to each other. He dropped it after a moment, the two halves floating to the floor dreamily, and he turned his attention back to the girl. She was working as if she knew her time was limited. What could he do?

"Namine…" He said in monotone. She didn't even glance up from her work.

"Does DiZ need me? Just tell him that it'll only be a little more." She replied. Ansem couldn't possibly do this. She was so innocent, just trying to do what was right. In fact, she hadn't done anything wrong at all. He remembered when they found her, covered in bruises from Marluxia, never leaving Sora's side in Castle Oblivion so that she could return his memories. She had even put herself in the way to protect him from them before they explained who they were. Even then, she had been slightly weary of them, and had made them promise that they wouldn't harm Sora. Only when DiZ had assured her did she give in, and then he himself noticed how exhausted she was. She had been supporting the whole castle by herself in addition to using her powers to begin returning the memories. While DiZ got to work, she collapsed into his arms and murmured a line that struck him.

_"I trust you." _

She trusted them. She trusted them to protect Sora and do their best to restore him. She was still doing her best even now to piece every last link of the chain of memories back in his heart exactly the way they were. When they had first brought her back to the mansion she had been still for days, as if asleep, but there was something more inhuman about it than that. It was more like she had turned off completely. But when she did turn on again, she wanted to get right back to work. They had had to patch her up from her injuries sustained during her time at Marluxia's mercy, but even with one eye covered by gauze and many bandages all over, she insisted that she had to work.

He had always been fascinated by Namine. She was an enigma yet so familiar at the same time. She reminded him of that one particular person who he'd given so much for, yet she was so different that he couldn't possibly see how. Her devotion to Sora was also outstanding.

"Namine," He said again.

"I promise that I'm getting down to the last few things." She said, but not irately. "I'm sorry it's taken so long."

"You have to get out of here." He said suddenly; so suddenly he was surprised at himself. She actually stopped working and looked up at him with wide blue eyes.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"You have to leave right now." Ansem said again. "DiZ…he isn't what we thought. He's just using you, Namine."

_"I trust you." _

"But I haven't finished yet. I have two more memories." She said, desperate. "I have to finish them. "

"If you don't leave now, I'm afraid that DiZ will kill you!" He exclaimed, terrified because she wasn't.

"But I can't stop! I have to fix Sora! I promised him…" Her eyes begged with sadness and loneliness.

"How much longer?" He asked.

"A few more minutes."

"As soon as you are done, I'm getting you out of here to somewhere safe." He gave in, sitting down. She gave him a huge smile, a smile he knew wasn't truly just for him. It was always for Sora.

"Thank you."

----

_"What an empty place..." Sora said softly, almost sadly._

_"It's full of loneliness...and darkness..."Aru added, stepping beside him. "But he's here...Ansem..."_

_"Well, this is just one of them heartless worlds."Goofy responded. "It'll just disappear into the darkness."_

_"...n-n-no. Who are you?" she whispered to herself._

_"It's us, Aru. Ryu and Sora-we're right here with you."_

_"I felt something..."_

_"What?" asked Donald._

_"Something inside the keyblade, reacting to something-a heart."_

_"A heart inside the keyblade?" Ryu asked._

_"What the hell?" Ryu said. The top part of the mountain rose, and a head with shallow yellow eyes was visible between the cracks in what they thought was rock, but were actually wings, that spread out to their full span. The demon within roared, shaking this new area._

_"Take this!" A voice came from below. Sora and Ryu came up, Sora lifting Ryu by his hands. "NOW RYU!" Sora threw Ryu to Chernbog's head. The fragment hunter drew his sword and jammed it into the other eye. Chernbog roared out again, and with his huge claws put a huge gash in Ryu's back. Sora flew back and out of range._

_"Look at this place." he said, in Ansem's voice. "To the heart seeking freedom, it is a prison...surrounded by water. But to the heart seeking solitude, it is the perfect cage. And so, the boy thought to escape this prison, and gave himself up to darkness, while the girl sought to put shackles on herself. I do not know who was more foolish-the boy who wanted more than anything to go, or the girl who never wanted to leave."_

_"They both belong to darkness. All worlds begin in darkness, and all so end. The heart is no different!"_

_"Come on, Sora! I thought you were stronger than that!"_

_"Dragons were meant to be slain!" Ansem's voice echoed. Ryu was thrown back into the air. Sora came down and went to attack Ansem, but suddenly, hundreds of cables flew up from the ship, and Ryu screamed out. Sora turned around to see the most grotesque site he had ever had to see._

_"Who are you?" Sora asked. The woman smiled as she stepped forward, a look of confidence on her face.  
"I...am Hikari Tagami."_

_"The keyblade master has a choice- he can either throw the worlds into oblivion and live in the light forever...or he can save the worlds, at the price of casting himself into oblivion." Sora's eyes went wide._

_"Then...Silvia's heart is in the keyblade?" Sora asked._

_Suddenly, Cedeile's hand moved, and her emerald green eyes came open for the first time in awhile. She sat upright and stretched out her arms.  
"Geez! I'm so stiff from lying around!" she said. The others laughed. Aru cried out and got Cedeile in a huge hug.  
"Cedeile! I missed you so much! We all thought you died!" she cried. Cedeile smiled._

_"Kingdom Hearts! Fill me with the power of darkness!" _

_"That doesn't matter, because I know now..." Sora began to say. Cedeile realized what he knew to, and stepped forward to join him._

_"Kingdom Hearts is LIGHT!" They both shouted. And true to their word, the doors released a great light that blinded Ansem, and he began to fade away._

_"No...How can this be? Light...? Just when I was so close to Rakuen! Cyanna...I did it for you!" Ansem whispered before he was completely gone._

_"No! Keep going! You guys-!" A familiar voice pleaded. Two hands grabbed the door from the inside. Aru and Sora looked up. Those black gloves looked awfully familiar._

_"Riku!" Everyone cried out._

_"Come on! I'll help too! Let me try to make up for my sins!" He said. Sora nodded and they all began to pull the door closed._

_"Now, masters, let us close the door for good! This darkness was never meant to exist in our world!" Mickey said. Cedeile and Sora looked at him in shock._

_"But doing that will-" Donald was about to say, but Mickey shook his head._

_"Don't worry. That door that leads to light will always be there. Rakuen is still closed."_

_"Be sealed forever!" They both yelled. The light flew up the door and a click was heard, signifying the door was locked._

_"Cedeile, are you coming with us?" he asked her. She looked at the ground and thought about it for a moment. Ryu and Aru watched her, wondering what she would say, and what would happen to them if she said 'yes.'_

_"I'm sorry Sora-I can't. I have to keep taking my own path." she replied. Ryu and Aru were puzzled._

_"Why?" Sora asked._

_"Because I have a mission-make it to the final purification and save 'him.' I haven't figured out the 'him' part yet, though. Oh yeah, and we have to find Silvia. It'll be easier if we split up, yeah?" She said. Sora nodded._

_"I'm just being selfish. You have your way, and I have mine." he said. She nodded. The ground began to shake again, and the part Ryu and Aru were standing on broke away and began to move off into the distance._

_"Cedeile!" They both called. Cedeile looked at them and then turned back to Sora._

_"This is goodbye...for now." she said._

_"Goodbye, Cedeile."_

_"Say hi to Kairi for me!" She yelled. She jumped off the edge of the ground and flew up towards the platform that was moving away from her. Her fingers just brushed the edge and nearly missed, but Aru and Ryu each grabbed one of her hands and helped her up. Sora looked down for a moment but then jetted his head up, like he remembered something._

_"Cedeile!" he yelled, to get her attention. He threw something towards her and it sailed through the air. She caught it carefully in her hands and then looked at what his gift was. It was his necklace with the silver crown on it. She looked back to him._

----

_"Sora!" Kairi yelled out as he ran towards her._

_"Kairi!" He returned. The ground underneath them shook and he grabbed her hand. "Remember what you said before? Well, I'm always with you too. I'll come back to you, I promise!" _

_"I know you will!" They let go of each other as Sora disappeared into the night. _

----

Roxas awoke, this time slowly and peacefully, the kind of waking up where you're not sure if you're awake or not for a few moments. He blinked a few times, and then finally found himself able to keep his eyes open, and looked around his room. Arlette wasn't there, which didn't really surprise him in the least bit, but what really disturbed him when he finally noticed it was that the smell of dragon fruit was completely gone. There wasn't even a hint of it in the air, like there had been when she wasn't around. Had something happened to her? Had Cedeile finally woken up?

He decided it was just time to get out of bed. Besides, Hayner and the others would no doubt be waiting for him at the Usual Spot in the back alley, so he better get ready quick. As he swung his feet to the ground and got up, he felt unsteady for a moment. Out of the corner of his eye, his reflection in the mirror didn't seem to be his own. When he turned to look, however, it was simply him-a blonde boy looking dumbly back at him. He got up and stretched out, feeling stiff from the previous night. He couldn't even recall when he had gone to bed. The last thing he remembered was looking up at the ceiling while Arlette was with him. What had happened in between then and now?

He turned and looked out the window. It seemed really quiet, more so than usual. Soon his parents would be coming home from his aunt's house. How would they react when they found all these things about him?

'But that's right; I don't exist…so they never even had a son.' He thought sadly. As he watched the waking world through the glass panes of his window, he noticed a whole flock of birds darting by, as if startled by something. He wondered what could've frightened them so, because the morning bells hadn't rung yet.

----

As he went out of his door and locked it, placing the key in the mailbox, he noticed that everything seemed very quiet in the town as he went towards the usual spot. No one looked at him as he went by, but just went past him, occupied with their own business.

There was no comforting scent. Arlette was gone. But where could she have gone? There was a sickening lurch in his stomach when the thought of Cedeile waking up occurred to him. She had to stay asleep in order for Arlette to exist separately from her. But wouldn't he have felt something or heard something if Cedeile had managed to wake up? Then again, he wasn't really attached to her, was he? He couldn't think of any reason.

He walked into the usual spot to see his friends in the middle of a heated discussion. They hadn't noticed that he had come in, but he wasn't surprised because he was pretty quiet.

"So that's when Seifer went running around the corner-"Hayner was in the middle of explaining to them. There was suddenly laughter that made Roxas's heart drop. If he wasn't supposed to exist, then what about his friends? Would they forget about him one day, if he disappeared?

"I had the hardest time sleeping last night…" Roxas began, trying to get their attention. But to his dismay they did not turn, but continued talking. He must not have spoken loud enough. "You guys?" He asked, stepping forward.

"Ready to go?" Hayner asked, turning around. He began to run forward, and passed right t_hrough_ Roxas. Roxas was horrified, and stood frozen in place as his three friends left the usual spot. What was happening to him? Was this it-was he disappearing right now? He dropped to his knees as a picture floated to the ground. He snatched it up and looked at it, his blue eyes widening. It was the picture of them in front of the mansion-except he was not in it.

He looked up to the sky and screamed. He screamed as loud as he could, even though no one would hear him. The picture had fallen out of his hands and landed, useless on the ground. He screamed and screamed, over and over again, wanting some proof that he existed.

"HAYNER!!!!! PENCE!!!! OLETTE!!!!!!" He screamed as loud as he could. "ARLETTE!!! Arlette, please help me!!!!!" He begged, nearly on the verge of crying, as pathetic as it was. "ARLETTE, ARLETTE!!!!"

"Geez, Roxas…your screaming is enough to wake the dead, you know." A voice said from behind him. Axel came striding in to the little hideout and stopped a few feet behind the kneeling, crumbling Roxas. Roxas was breathing heavily and shallowly, feeling like he was finally snapping. Axel sighed. "Hey, there's not much time. Come with me and this will stop." He said. Roxas leaned forward, resting his weary body on his legs. Something was coming back to him…something he was remembering-not one of Sora's memories, but his own.

----

Roxas stormed out of the library and down to the courtyard. He hated, _hated_ Larxene. Their experiments were not working-their secret little tests to see if they could feel. But he hated them, as much as they intrigued him. Maybe, perhaps, they should've left this up to Vexen. He was the scientist of the group. But this…this wasn't something they wanted everyone to know…

He stood out in the courtyard, even though it was raining. He raised his head up to the sky and let it wash away everything from him. He embraced the feeling of the wet streams going down his skin. It was warm, unlike the cold hands…the cold hands they all had.

"Something wrong, buddy?" A comforting voice asked. Roxas opened one eye and saw Axel leaning against the doorway, trying to stay out of the rain. Axel hated water.

Roxas needed to tell someone. This was driving him crazy.

"Axel, no matter what, we're best friends, right?"

No, he didn't hate Larxene. He didn't hate her in the least bit.

----

"Axel…" Roxas heaved out. Axel blinked.

"What is it?" He asked, mild surprise rising up in his green eyes.

"We're best friends, right?" He asked.

"Well sure, but I'm not risking getting turned into a dusk just because you're…wait…you remember?" He exclaimed happily, a smile now conquering her face. Roxas looked up at him briefly. Then he sighed and slowly picked up his broken self.

"Yeah…" He hesitantly responded.

"Wow…this is great! I can't believe…" Axel was rambling, overjoyed. Then he put on an air of seriousness. "But, just gotta make sure and all….umm…what's our boss's name?" He asked. Roxas frowned. He couldn't fake this. Axel waited expectantly, but when no answer came, he sighed and looked crestfallen. "Oh…so it's this way, isn't it?"

"Sorry." Roxas said, but he didn't know why. Axel frowned and summoned forth his weapons. Roxas took a step back as Axel shifted them a bit in his hands.

"Not as sorry as I am, buddy. This is it…" But suddenly he froze. In fact, it was as if a wave of silence hit him full force and all the life was drained out of the town. Axel stood in place, frozen by time.

"Roxas!! Hurry, to the mansion!" A bizarre voice commanded. Roxas then recognized the voice as the man in red, whom Arlette had fought.

_"I'll kill you!!" Arlette seemed to come flying out of nowhere, attempting to attack him again with the heartblade brought back._

'That man and Arlette are enemies, but he also has the key to who I am…' Roxas thought. He shook his head in confusion, and then ran towards the woods.

----

The gate was already unlocked when he got there, and he ran through it. As soon as he did, though, the gates started to close behind him, and a bunch of the grey suited creatures appeared, wanting to get their hands on him. He didn't let them have the chance, however, and ran towards the front doors on the mansion, to find them surprisingly unlocked. His heart was pounding in his head as his mind raced. Just what would he find? His new memories coming back both terrified him and made him curious. Why was he with them? Wasn't Axel one of the bad guys?

When he first stepped into the mansion, it felt both new and familiar at the same time. All this time he had been wondering what it was like inside, but now that he was in here, it didn't feel all that surprising. The main hall was dark, the only light coming through the big windows in the back wall. He approached them quietly, not daring to make a sound in this place. Carefully, he edged around the fallen chandelier and old rotting boards that had fallen from the ceiling. When he got to the window, he thought he could almost see a few feminine figures milling about the overgrown back garden, but it was empty, save for broken down statues and dying rose bushes, smothered by hearty weeds. There was also some old furniture-tipped over chairs, a broken table, and a couple of benches covered in ivy. It was almost as if someone had left this place in a hurry. But why? Roxas left the windows and noticed the glass case in the middle of the hall. He pressed his face to it and noticed that it was a little golden model of Twilight Town, with tiny people stuck in place along its streets, and a little train making its way on the tracks, but always in the same spot. Roxas had to look away after awhile-he wasn't part of this town. He just felt it. This town was not a place for him.

As if knowing where to go, Roxas headed up the stairs. One of the stairs creaked loudly, and it startled him so that he actually jumped up and flung himself against the wall. He took a few deep breaths-there was nothing to be afraid of. Nothing but his own memories, this is…

He made it to the top of the stairs without any more incidents and looked down the hall. There was a door all the way down at the end that he felt he had to go to. His heart-or whatever he had left of it-pounded in his chest, and he felt like he might fall over at any moment, but he still kept going, as if he might find out something about himself. The door came ever closer, as if it was moving towards him rather than the other way around. He reached out for the handle and pulled it, letting himself in.

It was the white room he had met Namine in. He gasped, looking around. It was completely empty. Where was Namine? All that was left was a bunch of pictures hanging on the walls and scattered all over the floor. But the pictures weren't just of Sora and his friends anymore; there were pictures of him. Pictures that brought back memories…

He felt his head begin to hurt as if it would burst and brought both hands to his head while the memories came back to him.

----

He gripped his coat with his clenched hands and gritted his teeth. He hated them all-every last one of them. The superior was droning on about something, but he still felt as if all their eyes were on him-Roxas, number XIII, the key of destiny…

_"After all Roxas, you are our most brutal fighter…"_ Superior had said.

He didn't want this. He was tired of all of them. All of Organization XIII could go straight to hell for all he cared. They didn't respect him. Half the time he wasn't even noticed. The superior had a creepy interest him because of the keyblades, but everyone else ignored him completely.

He loosened his grip. What did he care? He liked to be alone. All that mattered was fighting. He'd worry about the rest later.

----

"Larxene…" His cold voice said. She turned, her sadistic sea green eyes having that usual, devilish sparkle to them.

"What is it, XIII?" She asked in an innocent way that was not becoming of her at all.

"I know why it doesn't work." Roxas replied. She approached him, and reached out to stroke his cheek, but he turned away. Confused, but not particularly disappointed, she drew back her hand and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"And why doesn't it work?" She asked indignantly. He looked at her, his face completely blank.

"Because love isn't a desire to feel anything. Love is trying to lose yourself completely within someone else-to come as close to feeling nothing as possible." He replied in bored monotone. She blinked a few times, and then laughed a little.

"And where in the world did you find this out?" She asked, amused.

"I'm serious XII." He said harshly, which wiped the smirk off her face. He hadn't called her by her number in a very long time.

"I see it. I see people on the other side, together. What they find in the other person isn't everything-a surge or emotion, everything all at once. What they find is nothing; a way to lose themselves and their separate state to something else, to a becoming of one. I've seen it. I can tell by their faces. What we are doing…it will do nothing but make us more empty than we already are." He said. He sat down on the couch as if his body was a heavy burden. Larxene looked at him, her face blank, as if she wasn't sure if this was a joke and she should laugh, or completely serious.

"So that's it? You obviously didn't tell me this if you wanted to continue." She said, a slight edge in her voice. Her brows were stooping into a glare.

"There's no point in doing anything else. This is the end."

"XIII…I know that nobodies aren't supposed to feel, but it was like…we were so close to feeling _something_."

"That was a fairytale you made up. There was never anything." Roxas replied, his response obviously having some kind of fake impact upon her. "Perhaps, unlike the others, we remember more clearly what it was like to feel."

"Maybe it's opposite for us." She insisted. He shook his head and stood up.

"It's done. This is over, Larxene. It'd be best if we didn't tell anyone about this." Roxas said as he left the room.

----

"Leaving?" Roxas asked, stunned. He and Axel sat atop one of the lower skyscrapers, looking out at the lonely landscape. Mere shadows floated in the streets- the one who had not been as strong as them.

"Superior's orders. We're heading out to Castle Oblivion in order to try and infiltrate the dream castle. If we have that under our control, then we'll gain a great deal of power in the world of light." Axel explained. "Of course, that nitwit Marluxia is in charge. I can't believe I have to answer to someone under me."

"But why do you have to go too?" Roxas asked, almost like a child whining to a parent who was about to go away on a business trip. Axel sighed.

"It's really a test. The superior thinks that Marluxia is not quite trustworthy. That's why I'm going to. I'm to relay any information of rebellion back to the superior." He paused, and sighed before he added "Larxene's going too."

"Oh?" Roxas asked, trying not to sound interested. He hadn't seen her since he had told her what he learned of love. He hadn't even seen her walking around the hallways or in her favorite haunt in the library.

"She's not going for the same purpose I am." Axel added after it was apparent Roxas was not going to contribute anything else. Roxas felt a lump drop in his chest.

"There's no way she's plotting something with Marluxia. You don't really think she'd turn on us…do you?" Roxas asked, trying to sound as if he really didn't care, but he was failing miserably.

"It's true that she does try to suck up to the superior all the time, but…lately, there has been something off about her." Axel admitted, as though it pained him. Roxas was surprised-Axel hated Larxene.

"So now I'll really be alone. If both of you are going…" As soon as he had said that, he immediately wished that he hadn't. Axel gave him a funny look.

"I've been meaning to ask-what ever happened between the two of you? In the beginning, when you first came, everything was normal, but then after awhile the two of you were seen together a lot, talking, and then you were really depressed all the time, and now you two won't talk to each other at all." Axel's eyes suddenly went wide as he realized something. "You two weren't doing anything you shouldn't have…were you?"

"Of course not." Roxas said hastily. "No. Absolutely…nothing."

"Oh…of course. Just wondering…" They both trailed off and looked down at the city again. A rumbling noise rolled across the ski far away from them. "It's going to rain again. It's been doing that a lot lately, hasn't it."

"Yeah…" Roxas answered half-heartedly. Both Axel and Larxene were leaving him. He'd be totally alone, without anyone to turn to. At least with Axel here he could remain somewhat sane. And even if only he was going and Larxene had stayed behind, it still would've been better than losing both of them. "Axel…"

"Yes?"

"Don't kill Larxene…unless you have to. Can you do that for me?" Roxas asked hesitantly. He turned his face away so he didn't have to see how aghast and horrified his friend looked. He heard Axel give a very heavy sigh.

"I'll try my best, Roxas…"

----

Roxas felt like he wanted to faint right there in the white room. Him….part of organization XIII? But that would mean he was a bad guy!

"That's not right…"

_"What's not right?"_ A voice asked from above. Roxas instinctively looked up towards the ceiling. That voice was oddly familiar. No, it's couldn't be….

"Are you Cedeile?" He asked.

_"Yes but, how did you know? And who are you? You look a lot like my best friend_."

"I'm Roxas. And I look like Sora because I'm a part of him." He explained sadly, turning his head to the floor. For a moment he could see a crowded bedroom-people walking in and out, but two kids his own age always staying by a bedside. They were both familiar-Ryu and Aru, from Sora's memories.

_"You even know Sora and that he's my best friend…wow, this is…well, kinda weird." _Cedeile responded, and Roxas half smiled-he had almost expected her to say that, like she was a familiar old friend.

"It certainly is a bit weird. These past few days have been…weird." He replied.

_"I know what you mean. I've been asleep mostly, but then things get really screwy and I'm awake, but I'm not in my body. In fact, I've been getting glimpses of you, I think. Weirdest thing ever. Defiantly a much weirder dream than that one I had about the purple cat and the mockingbird…ah, anyway…"_ She trailed off. Roxas tried to hold back laughter. Cedeile was wacky-very wacky. Perhaps he might be too shy around her to be her friend. But she was nice too.

"Cedeile, are you awake now?"

_"I don't know…it's too hard to tell. But I wish I was-this is boring!"_ She complained.

"Well, I was wondering…would you forgive me?"

_"Forgive you for what? You're not making any sense Roxas." _

"I think I did something bad in my past-I think I was with the bad guys. But I don't know why."

_"Did you kill anyone?" _

"What?!" Roxas exclaimed. "Well…no, I don't think I did…I only remember fighting heartless."

_"Then I can forgive you, I think. I'll try, anyway."_ She replied. For a moment in his mind, he thought he could see her smiling face, but then he wasn't sure if it was really Arlette who he longed to see. But then there was only silence and he knew that Cedeile was gone. But she wasn't awake-so then where was Arlette?

'Oh no,' He thought, as something struck him, 'Oh God, please no…'

That man in red might have gotten her. He might have hurt her.

He had to find her.

Even now though it might already be too late.

He looked around the room one last time, at all the sketches and the memories that he had forgotten. Now he remembered why he had hated that life so much. It was all suddenly very clear to him now, as if he had remembered everything all at once.

That life was empty and cold. All there was was fighting. He was hailed as the best at what he did-the most cruel to his foes, the most brutal. The Key of Destiny-a Nobody who could wield keyblades. The Dual Wielder, XIII. There was nothing else. He had tried to find something to cling to. There was Axel, his best friend. The two would do anything for each other. Hayner was starting to fade to the corners of his mind. It wasn't Hayner who sat on the rooftops of the city with him and went on missions and fought heartless and told him to ignore everyone else. It had been Axel.

He turned and left the white room, and as the doors closed behind him, he felt a sense of finality coming over him. It was clear what had to be done now. He didn't like what it would bring, but it was what had to be done. It wasn't fair. But everyone needed Sora.

'Give me a little more time, Sora. Please, just let me find Arlette.' He thought.

----

Roxas felt like he was at a dead end when he entered the library at the other end of the hall. He felt like there should be more here. He looked around the room, which carried a gold hue in the dusky light. There were many, many books, and it seemed as if time had left them undisturbed. He recalled what the guardian of the forbidden archive had told him-that even books, too, had hearts, and were thinking. It kind of creeped him out, and he felt like the books were watching him, so that's when he noticed the statue that was sitting on the shelf.

It was a gargoyle carved out of a dark stone. It seemed rather misplaced in this place, and he wondered how it got there, but then he followed its gaze. It was looking at the floor. He walked to the approximate spot where the statue's gaze focused, and found that a large table was in the way. There was a drawing on the table in yellow crayon of a circle, but the circle was incomplete. There were two symbols and the beginning of a third. One was the heartless symbol, and the other was a crown-a crown for light, for Sora. Roxas smiled sadly yet in triumph at the same time. It was a lock and he knew how to open it. He picked up the yellow crayon that lay nearby and completed the drawing with the third symbol. An inverse, thorny heart-the symbol of nobodies, of Organization XIII.

The circle glowed as soon as he finished and he took a few steps back. The table and the floor disappeared, revealing exactly what he had been looking for without even knowing it. A metal staircase led down into a drastically different room-all metal with computer components strewn about. This was what he had been looking for, and he knew that once he went down, he wasn't coming back up. Yet he still went. This was just too important to turn back.

He went through a door and found himself in a dark room with a computer, a room he actually knew. They had brought him here. They had sent him through the computer so that they could use him. But who exactly had it been…?

----

_He was leaving today. But now there was a massive heartless attack and rain was pouring down. This was exactly what he didn't need. Thousands of them were rising out of the ground, surrounding him. He wouldn't escape. And he'd need both blades this time…_

_Plus, that one was watching. He knew who he was-he was a faint shadow from his other's life, someone he'd only heard of, but he knew enough of to recognize him if he saw him. Plus, he looked like her. _

_He began his beautiful death waltz, the two keys flashing around him like his missing partner, slicing through several of the beings at once. The superior was right-he was the best fighter they had. The dual wielder, XIII…._

_And when that fiery heart, some sort of magical spell, appeared beneath him, he knew who was here. He looked up at the roof of the tallest building in the plaza and saw a figure standing above it, just peeking over the giant monitors. _

_"Where's Sora?" Roxas whispered to himself. But somehow, he felt that Riku knew. Even though he didn't particularly like him, he knew that together they could finish the battle up quickly to get done with their own._

_And maybe even corner that one. Roxas noticed him moving out of the corner of his eye-he was running down a fire escape at the moment. _

_Roxas began to climb up the building, slicing through heartless as he went, so elegant with every movement, so precise. Riku leapt off the top, coming down towards him. Ah, he was blindfolded again this time. Riku was always so interesting. _

_Roxas tossed him the Oblivion-they were all key bearers after all- an drew out his trump weapon, another kingdom key. Riku caught Oblivion deftly and landed perfectly on the ground…_

_"Every time I see you, I hate you only more…" Roxas hissed as he forced Riku off of him and turned, slicing through the silver-haired boy. Riku collapsed, grasping the bleeding wound in his side, and looked up at the blonde, who choose to remain hooded. He felt better like this-if Riku looked at his face, he'd only be looking at his other, not him. And he want Riku looking at him. _

_"Why…?" Riku asked out of breath, "Why does someone like you have the keyblade?" Roxas looked down at them. He couldn't explain it either-really, it shouldn't make sense. A weapon of the heart, with a girl's heart inside, and made to protect the hearts of the worlds in the hand of someone like him, someone without a heart, didn't make any sense at all. It angered him that he couldn't find the answer he wanted. _

_"Shut up!!!" Roxas yelled as he charged forward, but a new figure slid calmly in his way, so he had to stop short. "You….!"_

_"You…?" Riku questioned. He wouldn't know who this person was. Out of all of them, there were only two who did. _

_"I've been waiting a long time, Roxas…" The figure said._

----

The computer was in pieces at his feet. He knew that everything was a lie. Riku had brought him back here and now he and the DiZ guy were messing with his head. They even made the fake Twilight Town as a prison and made him believe…

Hayner…Pence…Olette…

They were real people somewhere, and they lived without ever knowing who he was. How could that be? How could someone just mess with him like that? And his parents…were they real people too? And maybe they had a son his age, who was living a happy, normal life and existing…feeling…

"_Roxas…more…"_ He could almost feel the sadistic whisper against his ear from long ago. He shook it off as he looked at the shattered machinery in front of him. They had used this to trap him in this digital world, to make a fake existence for him.

Now he understood why Arlette had hated DiZ so much. He was starting to feel hatred for him too. And he had probably caused Arlette to go away and made things so hard for the both of them.

_"She loves you the most!"_

He would destroy DiZ for everything he had done to him and to Arlette. He would get his revenge against that man for messing with his head, trapping him in that cage, erasing his memories, and causing him so much pain. DiZ was waiting for him beyond this room. He knew that it wasn't exactly Roxas waiting for him, but the Organization's number thirteen.

"I can go back…" He murmured. "I can go back, and it will all be okay. Because, even though this time I've had in this world will never be remembered by anyone, it has helped me, and changed me. I can go back and still be me, and everything will be okay. Number XIII and Roxas…they're both me, and I can combine them together and be who I want…right, Arlette?" He asked the empty room.

A peace had come over him again, this time it was more permanent than ever before. He felt that he could go forward and accept things now. Though he couldn't forgive DiZ and Riku for what they had done, he could at least face them and know he would be alright.

He would be alright…

Turning around, he spotted the next door that he had to go through, and approached it. It slid open electronically and emitted him into the dimly lit room beyond. As soon as he stepped through, it slowly closed behind him and he didn't even make an effort to turn back. No turning back now. He was fine with that. Though the room was empty and the air thick with tension, he was fine.

He would be alright…

"So you came after all…" A familiar voice said out of the shadows. A figure strode out from the corner and came within Roxas's view. It was Axel, and this time, he looked prepared for whatever was going to happen.

"I did. I have to." Roxas said.

"Roxas, I assume you remember more now than you did before? You seem more and more like your old self, but there's still something different about you. Damn, it's almost hopeful."

"I do remember now. I know everything Axel. We're best friends." Roxas replied.

"Then can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Why is it that there's always a woman between us?" Axel asked, looking stricken with angst.

"What do you mean?" Roxas asked.

"That dead girl, the one I've seen you with; you love her, don't you? There's just something about how you look at her…even now, you're thinking about her, right?" Axel asked, hoping it wasn't true. Roxas thought for a moment.

"I don't know if I love her for sure, or not, but…I do care for her. It's weird…I know we could never be together. She's dead, and I don't exist. I'm part of Sora, and she's a part of Cedeile. It's impossible for us, and yet…I can't help feeling how I do. It goes against Sora's feelings, but…I feel like I can feel independent of him." Roxas explained, sadly. The realization of what he had said hit him-he could never in any way be with Arlette. But still…he could try, right?

"So you do care about her. More than you care about me, your best friend." Axel muttered. "If this is how it'll be, then fine. That'll make THIS-" He suddenly called out his chakrams and pillars of flame explodes all around him, getting ready to attack, "So much easier!!!" A blast of warm air flew at Roxas, nearly knocking him off his feet, but he managed to keep his balance.

'I can be XIII and me…' He thought, and he felt handles materialize in his each of his hands. He grabbed them and they formed his trusty dual keyblades-Oblivion and Oathkeeper, side by side.

"Two?! So, you really have gone back!"

"No, I've moved forward!" Roxas replied. Axel came at him, but he blocked with Oathkeeper. He swung out Oblivion from behind him and slashed upwards, forcing Axel back.

It was a tough fight between the two friends. No matter what Roxas did, Axel would counter. As hard as it was for Roxas, he found that he was enjoying himself for once. And he could tell that Axel enjoyed pushing the limits too. Roxas half thought that Axel was doing some attacks just to be showy-making giant pillars of flame appear and having them dance around the room, molten fire rocks exploding up from the floor, and throwing his chakrams around to try and get Roxas from behind. But Roxas was smarter-he was able to dodge and block everything. Roxas flew through the air so easily, and his keyblades seemed to follow him wherever he went, like two partners rather than two weapons. Axel jumped up above him; coming in front of Roxas and ready to attack, but Roxas flipped backwards and threw the Oblivion from underneath his body, the black metal weapon spinning furiously and ready to tear through whatever it came into contact with. Axel, at the same time, threw one of his chakrams with all his force. The two weapons just passed by each other, leaving only a tiny space to spare from hitting each other. The chakram hit Roxas just as he brought his legs over his head and was getting ready to land back on the ground, throwing him off balance. He landed with a hard thud, but Oathkeeper never left his hand. Meanwhile, Oblivion came up and hit Axel dead on, knocking him out of the air too. He passed through a pillar of fire, but it didn't affect him at all-of course his flames wouldn't hurt their master. Still, Oblivion had left a nasty mark on him. He staggered on his feet a bit, the air knocked out of him and his shoulder bleeding badly.

Roxas slowly got up. His white jacket was torn all across the bottom edge and a good portion of it was now missing. There was also a few cuts where the blades had stroked his skin. His instinct told him to lift up his free hand, and he was rewarded by Oblivion returning to his hand. He smiled-it was like he wasn't fighting alone. He got up on both feet and slowly rose up.

"This isn't over, is it?" Roxas asked Axel. Suddenly, the room went dark and the fire disappeared. Axel fell to his knees. "Axel!!!" Roxas called, and ran several steps forward.

"Stop." Axel said, looking down at the ground. "Hey," He continued, as he started to disappear in a swarm of dark energy that had started to rise up from the floor. "We'll meet in the next life, right?"

"The next life?" Roxas asked. He nodded. "Sure, it's a promise, Axel."

"Stupid," Axel replied, "Just because you have a next life…" He remarked before disappearing completely. Roxas was sad, but he was sure that he would see Axel again. He'd just have to wait. All that was left to do was to go through the next door.

This door led to a cold, dark hallway. The lights on the floor were little help to guide his way, so he went slowly, keeping Oathkeeper and Oblivion close to his sides. He looked from wall to wall, making sure there was nothing hiding to jump out at him.

Suddenly, up ahead of him, it seemed to get lighter. He quickened his step, and when he found the source of the light, he gasped in surprise. Two large glass pods were before him, and though they were foggy, they held two familiar figures…

"Donald…and Goofy?" Roxas voiced, surprised to see Sora's travelling companions here. Then that must mean Sora was nearby too. The hallway turned the corner and led out to a large, white room, and Roxas followed it, emerging into the brightness.

His room seemed to stretch out forever above and around him. The only solid thing he was sure of was the floor. The room was mostly empty, save for one very large, flower like pod in the center. Roxas slowly began to approach, but stopped short when he noticed a figure standing in front of the pod with their back to him; a very transparent figure…

"Arlette!!!" He called, relieved and surprised to see her. She turned her head sadly and slowly. As she did, her braid fell from the rest of her hair and disappeared, leaving her with a very uneven and choppy short haircut. As the brain disappeared on its way down, the green ribbon that she wore at the end of it became more solid and dropped to the floor. Tears sparkled in her dark emerald eyes as she gazed at him one last time.

"I'm so sorry…" She was able to whisper before she faded out completely.

"No, Arlette!!" Roxas called as he ran towards where she had been standing; however, DiZ appeared and blocked his path. Roxas slid to a halt before the mysterious man. He looked at Roxas with his one good eye and then laughed a bit.

"That ghost has haunted me long enough! And so have you-you were useful for a bit, but now it's time for you to fulfill your true purpose." He said mockingly.

"If you did anything to Arlette, I swear I'll-"

"What can I possibly do to her?" DiZ cut him off. "She's already dead. But let's not waste time on small talk-like I said, it's time for Sora to get a long delayed wake up call."

"Why are you doing this to me? You tricked me, and used me! You jerked me around and I had no idea! Why the hell would you do that to me?" Roxas yelled, angered.

"Do you think you're important at all?" DiZ asked. "I am no more than a servant of the world, which makes you a tool at best."

"I am more than a tool! I'm a person, someone who's alive, who can-"

"Were you going to say 'feel'? How funny-but you're a nobody, and you can't feel. There is only one nobody who can feel, and he's not in this room right now. Anyway, the only use you have now is to wake up Sora. I need someone who can move about in the realm of light, and you can barely cross through the boundary without tearing yourself apart." Roxas gritted his teeth, and then charged forth at DiZ with both keyblades drawn. He was sure he had the old man; until he passed right through him.

"What?"

"Sorry; this is just a data projection. You need not to waste your time." And with an evil laugh, the man disappeared. Roxas stood there for a few moments, not sure what to do.

"I'll be alright." He said. He walked towards the pod and picked up the lone green ribbon on the ground. It was still shinny a soft, as if it was new. He gripped it tightly in his hand and looked up at the flower as it opened up, showing a boy who looked like him.

"We meet at last." Roxas said to the boy. He smiled sadly and looked down at his keyblades and the ribbon one last time. "Thanks, partners." He said to the keyblades before they disappeared. He sighed and looked back up at the boy. "Sora, you're so lucky. It looks like my summer…is over…"

----

He was disappearing now, sinking further into the darkness, into obscurity.

"Roxas…this is my wing. You can use it…whenever you want to." Arlette's voice echoed in his ears and he felt warmth from deep down within his soul swell up and engulf his entire body one last time before fading away.

----

Cedeile's eyes snapped open.

It was so sudden and unexpected that no one noticed at first until she let out a small gasp. Ryu and Aru turned, ecstatic that their friend was alright, but then alarmed. She was crying uncontrollably.

"Cedeile? Are you alright?" Ryu asked. She brought up her hand and wiped her eyes with the back of it. "Cedeile?"

Cedeile slowly sat up in her bed and looked back and forth between Aru and Ryu, and then to the other people in the room, before she brought both hands up to her face and sobbed loudly. Ryu immediately threw both arms around her and embraced her tightly as the others looked on, amazed.

----

6H: Finally the end of Roxas's story. Next chapter is when their adventure begins!!!


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